GIFT  OF 

IV- 


PETER  PARLEY'S  LITTLE  LIBRARY. 

This  series  of  entertaining  and  useful  Books  is  designed  for  Children. 
They  will  be  elegantly  printed,  and  handsomely  illustrated  by  Engra- 
vings. They  will  consist  either  of  Biographical  Tales  and  Adventures, 
of  an  authentic  character,  or  lively  and  amusing  descriptions  and  illus- 
trations of  the  Arts  of  Life.  They  will  be  by  different  writers,  but  the 
selection  of  the  works,  and  the  general  superintendence  of  their  publica- 
tion, will  be  committed  to  the  Author  of  Peter  Parley's  Tales.  The 
following  are  among  the  works  which  will  belong  to  the  series. 

1.  THE    ADVENTURES    OF   CAPT.    JAMES    RILEY,    IN 
AFRICA. 

2.  THE  STORY  OF  JOHN  R.  JEWETT,  the  Captive  of  Nootka 
Sound. 

3.  THE  SHIP,  or  entertaining  descriptions  of  the  Structure  and  Use 
of  a  Ship,  with  Stories  of  Sea  Adventures,  and  a  History  of  the  art  of 
Navigation. 

4.  THE  STORY  OF  LA  PEROUSE,  and  an  account  of  the  voy- 
ages made  to  discover  his  fate. 

5.  THE  FARM,  or  a  new  account  of  rural  scenes,  with  the  toils, 
pleasures,  and  pursuits  of  Farming.    By  J.  Taylor. 

6.  STORY  OF  ALEXANDER  SELKIRK,  who  inhabited  a  soli, 
tary  island,  alone,  for  several  years. 

7.  THE  MINE,  an  entertaining  account  of  Mines  and  Minerals. 

8.  THE  GARDEN,  or  the  art  of  laying  out  and  cultivating  it. 

i^=-  These  works  are  prepareji  with  the  view  of  rendering  them  at- 
tractive to  children,  and  amusing  to  all  classes  of  youthful  readers ;  at 
the  same  time  they  are  calculated  to  impart  knowledge  of  a  useful  kind. 


THE  PARENT'S  PRESENT,  edited  by  the  author  of  Peter  Par- 
ley's Tales. 

f^*  This  work  is  very  neatly  printed,  and  is  designed  as  a  Christmas 
or  New  Year's  present,  for  parents  to  their  children. 

PETER  PARLEY'S  PICTURE  BOOK,  with  38  beautiful  Engra- 
vings. 

PETER  PARLEY'S  SPELLING  BOOK,  with  175  Engravings. 
PETER  PARLEY'S  BOOK  OF  FABLES,  with  fine  Cuts. 
PETER  PARLEY'S  EVERY  DAY  BOOK,  50  Engravings. 


THE    MINE; 

OR 

SKETCHES  OF  THE  MINES  OF  DIFFERENT  COUNTRIES. 
THE  MODES  OF  WORKING  THEM, 

AND 

THEIR  VARIOUS  PRODUCTIONS 


BY  THE   REV.  ISAAC  TAYLOR, 

AUTHOR    OF    •  SCENES   IN   EUROPE.   ASU,    AFRICA.    AND   AMERICA," 
"THE  SHIP,"  &c. 

WITH   SIXTEEN   ENGRAVINGS. 


ADAPTED  TO  THE  READING  OF  AMERICAN  YOUTH, 


PHILADELPHIA 

J.  B.   L  I  P  P  1 1ST  0  0  T  T    &    C  O. 
1861. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  18S4, 
BY  S.  G.   GOODRICH, 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  Massachusetts. 


INTRODUCTION. 


THE  following  work,  it  seems  fair  to  apprise 
our  readers,  was  originally  prepared  in  England, 
and  was  designed  for  the  children  of  that  coun- 
try. But,  with  some  alterations,  which  I  shall 
make,  it  will  be  found  equally  adapted  to  chil- 
dren, in  the  United  States,  and  to  them,  in  this 
new  dress,  it  is  dedicated. 

They  will  find  it  an  interesting  and  instruc- 
tive little  volume.  To  heighten  the  interest  of 
the  work,  I  shall  add  a  chapter  about  the  mines 
which  are  found  in  various  parts  of  the  United 
States. 

From  a  perusal  of  the  volume,  they  will  be 
led  to  regard  the  globe  upon  which  we  dwell, 
with  a  deeper  interest  than  perhaps  they  now 

438849 


6  INTRODUCTION. 

do.  They  look,  no  doubt,  with  pleasuie  upon 
the  fair  and  beautiful  portions  of  the  earth : — 
they  are  delighted  with  the  thousand  beauties, 
which  often  cluster  in  a  single  landscape: — its 
herbs — its  plants — its  flowers  and  trees — its 
winding  streams — its  bleating  flocks — its  tidy 
cottages  scattered  here  and  there — all  conspire 
to  fill  the  mind  with  pleasure,  and  to  excite  our 
admiration  of  the  goodness  and  wisdom  of  the 
Author  of  our  being. 

But  this  little  volume  will  convey  another 
lesson.  It  will  carry  its  readers  among  the 
more  unsightly  portions  of  the  earth — lofty 
mountains — deep  precipices — caverns  and  ex- 
cavations— grotesque  and  shapeless  works — just 
the  portions  of  the  globe,  which,  at  first  view, 
would  seem  to  be  without  interest  or  value. 

Yet  even  these  will  be  found  to  be  full  of  the 
riches  and  goodness  of  the  Great  Author  of 


INTRODUCTION.  7 

nature.  They  are  unsightly,  but  not  "  neglect- 
ed spots."  They  contain  articles  important  to 
our  comfort  and  happiness.  We  shall  find  salt, 
and  iron,  and  coal,  with  other  minerals,  without 
which,  the  common  business  of  civilized  life 
could  not  be  conducted — to  say  nothing  of  vari- 
ous medicines  which  administer  to  bur  health, 
dug  from  the  bowels  of  the  earth — nor  of  gold 
and  silver  important  to  commercial  intercourse — 
nor  of  the  diamond  and  other  gems,  which  serve 
to  adorn  and  beautify  our  persons. 

They  will  learn,  moreover,  something  of  the 
process,  by  which  the  metals  are  separated 
from  their  ore,  and  of  the  toil  and  labor  of  thou- 
sands of  our  fellow-beings,  doomed  for  life  to 
delve  in  mines  hundreds  of  feet  below  the  sur- 
face of  the  earth — shut  out  from  most  of  the 
joys  of  society;  forever  excluded  from  the 
light  of  day. 


THE    MINE 


SALT. 

CHESHIRE.* 

"  THIS  is  something  like !"  exclaimed  James, 
— "  Oh !  this  is  quite  a  fairy  palace !  We 
seemed  as  if  we  were  going  out  of  the  land  of 
the  living  all  the  while  we  were  coming  hither : 
and  now,  surely,  all  I  see  is  magic." 

Mr.  Thompson  was  well  pleased  to  find  his 

*  Cheshire  is  a  county  in  the  north-western  part  of  England, 
lying  in  part  on  the  Irish  sea.  It  is  about  fifty  miles  long  and 
twenty-five  broad.  Its  capital  is  Chester,  which  lies  on  the  river 
Dee,  seventeen  miles  south  from  Liverpool,  and  one  hundred  and 
eighty-one  north-west  from  London.  Among  other  things,  it 
abounds  in  excellent  salt.  Cheshire  is  also  celebrated  for  the 
excellent  quality  of  its  cheese. 


10  SALT  MINES  IN  CHESHIRE. 

son  thus  interested  and  delighted.  He  had  been 
at  some  trouble,  and  incurred  some  expense,  to 
gain  this  sight  foi  him.  They  were  now  in  the 
subterraneous  regions  of  the  salt  mine,  at  North- 
wich;*  and  he  had  taken  care  to  have  the 
whole  illuminated,  according  to  a  custom  with 
the  miners,  when  company  visit  the  mines,  who 
are  willing  to  pay  for  this  splendid  exhibition. 
Numbers  of  the  workmen,  with  each  a  light  in 
his  hand,  had  placed  themselves  in  the  various 
niches  and  corners  of  the  mine.  As  the  mine 
itself  is  a  very  large  excavation,  great  pillars  of 
the  salt  rock  are  left  at  various  intervals,  fif- 
teen, or  even  twenty -four  feet  in  diameter,  and 
as  many  in  height ;  by  which  means,  besides  a 
huge  vaulted  dome,  a  continuation  of  chambers, 
halls,  and  passages,  appeared  in  view.  As  the 

*  Northwich  is  situated  at  the  union  of  the  rivers  Weaver  and 
Dan;  eighteen  miles  east  of  Chester. 


THE    DESCENT.  11 

salt  is  like  a  white  semi-transparent  rock,  every 
light  glittered  in  a  thousand  places,  exhibiting 
a  great  variety  and  intermixture  of  splendid 
colors: — such  as  one  might  suppose  a  vast 
building  would  display,  were  the  walls  and 
arches  encrusted  with  diamonds. 

As  these  excavations  reach  far  under  ground, 
some  of  the  candles  were  evidently  at  a  great 
distance,  and  gave  the  idea  of  an  interminable 
labyrinth  of  brilliant  apartments;  although 
one  vast  amphitheatre,  as  the  principal  part, 
chiefly  caught  their  attention.  Here  the  floor 
was  as  level  as  any  mason  could  have  laid  it ; 
the  sides  rose  to  a  cupola  in  the  centre,  sup- 
ported by  pillars,  nearly  pellucid,  almost  fifty 
feet  high. 

This  appeared  the  more  astonishing  to  them, 
because  their  descent  had  been  rather  gloomy ; 
for  they  had  been  let  down  in  a  large  tub, 


12  ADMIRATION   AND   FEAR 

through  a  sort  of  deep  well,  about  a  hundred 
and  fifty  feet,  and  in  rather  an  anxious  mood. 
For  the  tub  was  only  a  rough  one, — the  same 
that  is  used  by  the  miners  for  raising  the  lumps 
of  salt  to  the  surface  of  the  earth. 

It  was  some  time  before  the  fascination  of 
the  scene  would  allow  the  young  philosopher 
to  ask  a  single  question,  or  notice  any  of  the 
operations  going  on. 

He  began  at  last  to  inquire,  with  a  whole 
string  of  questions  :  "  How  deep  are  we  in  the 
earth? — How  far  do  these  caverns  reach? — 
How  much  salt  is  obtained  from  hence  every 
year  ?"  &,c. — "  It  will  take  some  time  to  answer 
all  those  questions,"  said  his  father ;  "  which 
can  be  done,  too,  more  at  our  leisure,  when  we 
get  above  ground  again.  Meanwhile,  let  us 
observe  some  of  their  operations." 

When   the   extra  lights   were  extinguished, 


OPERATIONS    OF    THE    MINERS.  13 

and  only  those  remained  which  the  workmen 
needed  for  their  convenience,  the  place  looked 
gloomy  enough,  especially  after  its  recent  bril- 
liant appearance. 

It  was  curious  to  wratch  the  miners  in  their 
work,  separating  huge  masses  of  the  salt  rock, 
with  pickaxes  ;  and  then,  with  heavy  hammers, 
splitting  them  into  smaller  and  more  convenient 
portions.  In  some  places,  they  bored  the  rock, 
and  put  into  the  deep  hole,  thus  made,  a  quan- 
tity of  gunpowder :  this  being  fired,  an  explo- 
sion followed,  wrhich  usually  separated  several 
great  blocks  of  the  salt :  these,  as  before,  were 
broken,  that  they  might  be  removed  the  more 
easily.  These  lumps,  being  carried  to  the  spot 
under  the  mouth  of  the  pit,  were  then  drawn 
up  to  the  surface  of  the  earth,  in  the  very  tub 
in  which  James  and  his  father  had  descended, 
and  by  which  they  also  returned. 


14  DEPTH    OF   MINES. 

"  So,  James,  we  are  now  above  ground  again. 
If  the  landscape  below  is  the  most  curious,  yet, 
upon  the  whole,  the  landscape  above  is  the 
most  pleasant ;  is  it  not  1" 

"  Yes,  father !    I  am  glad  I  have  seen   th< 
mine ;  but  I  am  very  glad  now  of  the  fresh  air , 
and  the  bright  sun,  and  the  smiling  landscape, 
with  its  variegated  greens." 

"  And  now,  some  of  your  questions  may  be 
considered  at  leisure.  You  asked  how  deep 
we  were  below  the  surface  of  the  earth  1  The 
roof  of  that  grand  cathedral,  in  which  you  were 
so  much  delighted  just  now,  is  about  a  hundred 
feet  beneath  us.  But  the  depth  of  the  several 
mines  varies  much.  The  salt  rock  seems  to  lie 
in  vast  beds,  or  strata.  One  of  these  had  been 
worked  for  more  than  a  hundred  years,  when 
another  was  discovered  below  it,  but  separated 
by  a  bed  of  hardened  clay,  or  soft  stone,  be- 


NECESSITY  OF  PERSEVERANCE.    15 

tween  thirty  and  forty  feet  thick.  This  lower 
stratum  is  said  to  be  very  pure." 

"And  how  came  they  to  find  this,  so  deep 
in  the  earth,  father?  Who  told  them  it  was 
there  V9 

"It  was  found,  as  we  say,  by  accident. 
Persons  were  searching  for  coal,  when  they 
came  to  a  solid  mass  of  salt ;  which  has  been 
to  the  proprietors  an  inexhaustible  fund  of 
wealth.  It  is  well  those  wrho  were  digging  did 
not  say,  *  This  is  not  coal,  let  us  give  over,  and 
try  somewhere  else.'  It  is  well  that,  when 
they  had  digged  for  some  time,  they  did  not 
leave  off  in  despair,  and  miss  of  this  treasure. 
How  much  may  be  missed  sometimes  for  want 
of  perseverance ! — And  how  much  has  been  lost, 
through  ignorance  of  the  value  of  what  has 
been  actually  found!  It  is  said,  that  the  bed 
of  salt  continues  for  a  mile  and  a  half,  as  mea- 


16  SALT-WORKS    IN    CHESHIRE. 

sured  one  way,  almost  east  and  west,  and  about 
three  quarters  of  a  mile  across  it.  The  thick-, 
ness  of  the  stratum  of  salt  is  from  sixty  to 
almost  a  hundred  feet.  Its  upper  parts  are 
about  forty  feet  below  the  level  of  the  sea,  and 
ninety  feet  below  the  surface  on  Which  we 
stand.  The  thickness  of  the  lower  bed  of  salt 
has  not  been  ascertained;  but  they  have  sunk 
above  forty  feet  into  it,  without  finding  its 
bottom.  In  another  place,  three  distinct  beds 
have  been  discovered  :  one  of  them,  four  feet 
thick  ;  a  second,  twelve  feet ;  and  the  third  has 
been  penetrated  above  seventy  feet ;  but  as  no 
bottom  has  yet  been  found,  we  do  not  know 
how  much  deeper  it  is. 

"Salt  is  procured  at  several  places  here- 
abouts. They  are  mostly  adjacent  to  the  river 
Weever,  which  runs  across  Cheshire.  The 
principal  works  are  at  Namptwich,  Middle- 


SALT  MINE  AT  NORTHWICH. 


B 


18  ROCK-SALT. 

wich,*  and  Northwich :  there  are  also  some  at 
Winsford,  and  other  places;  making  nearly  a 
dozen  mines,  now  in  full  working. 

"Although  the  mine,  into  which  we  descend- 
ed, is  one  solid  rock  of  salt,  which  may  be  dug 
into,  and  brougat  up  in  lumps;  yet,  in  many 
cases,  the  salt  is  found  dissolved  in  springs  of 
water.  This  is  called  brine,  and  must  be  ren- 
dered fit  for  use,  by  evaporating  the  water  by 
boiling.  As  the  water  vanishes  in  steam,  the 
salt  crystallizes.  Pumps  of  great  power  are  in 
use  at  these  brine  springs,  for  bringing  up 
the  water  from  its  deep  caverns  into  large 
reservoirs ;  though  some  of  these  springs  are 
at  no  great  depth. 

"Indeed,  the  rock-salt  itself  is  not  fit  for 
the  table,  till  it  has  been  purified.  This  effect 

*  Namptwich  lies  on  the  Weever  twenty  miles  south-east  from 
Chester.    Middlewich  is  east  of  the  latter  place  twenty-two  miles. 


PURIFICATION    OP   THE    BRINE.  19 

is  produced  by  dissolving  it  in  water,  and  then, 
by  heat,  evaporating  that  water  again,  during 
which  operation  the  impurities  rise  as  a  scum 
to  the  top,  and  are  skimmed  off.  In  order  to 
facilitate  this  process,  coagulable  matter,  such 
as  eggs,  &c.  are  mingled  with  the  brine ;  these 
quickly  rise  to  the  top,  in  the  form  of  a  crust, 
carrying  every  foulness  up  with  them.  Much 
of  this  purification  is  done  on  the  spot ;  but 
vast  quantities  of  the  pit  salt  are  sent  to  Liver- 
pool and  Bristol,  to  be  there  refined.  Much 
is  also  sent,  in  its  crude  state,  to  the  eastern 
side  of  the  kingdom,  where  are  long  establish- 
ed salt-works,  for  supplying  the  adjacent  coun- 
try. It  has  been  calculated  that  above  fifty 
thousand  tons  of  salt  are  .extracted  from  the 
mines  hereabouts,  every  year,  supplying  not 
only  England,  but  also  Ireland,  the  Baltic, 
and  so  the  north  of  Europe,  with  this  necessary 


20  SALT  MONEY. 

arthle.  Large  quantities  also  are  annually  sent 
to  the  United  States. 

"  Thus  the  proprietors  gain  money  by  it ; 
but  in  some  countries  money  is  made  of  it. 
It  is  thus  precious  in  the  central  parts  of 
Africa.  The  salt  is  formed  into  round  flat 
cakes,  which  are  stamped ;  and  these  are  taken 
as'ready  money,  in  all  the  adjacent  districts." 

"  One  would  wonder  how  all  the  salt  came 
here,"  said  James. 

"  True,"  replied  the  father :  "  men,  who  love 
to  account  for  every  thing,  have  guessed  about 
it.  Many  have  supposed  that  it  has  been 
formed  by  gradual  deposits  from  the  sea. 
Yet,  if  that  were  the  case,  how  are  we  to  ac- 
count for  it,  when  found,  as  it  is  in  some  places, 
at  considerable  heights  up  mountains?  In- 
deed, I  do  not  know  that  sea  water,  if  left  to 
settle,  will  ever  deposit  its  salt.  Unless  it 


ORIGIN   OP   SALT.  21 

were  over-saturated  with  it,  how  could  it  let 
it  go,  if  heat  were  not  applied  to  evaporate  the 
water?  If  this  salt  had  ever  floated  in  the 
sea,  it  must,  in  its  crystalization,  have  inclosed 
in  it  fish,  or  shells,  or  marine  plants,  of  some 
sort;  but  we  have  no  account  of  any  such 
matters  being  found  among  it ;  yet  its  power 
to  preserve  them,  if  once  inclosed,  cannot  be 
doubted. 

"  I  am  more  inclined  to  suppose  that  masses 
of  salt,  like  the  rocks  which  we  see  around  our 
coast,  are  part  of  the  original  creation,  and 
were  intended  for  great  usefulness  in  the  eco- 
nomy of  our  earthly  habitation.  Salt  is  ac- 
ceptable to  man  in  every  climate,  and  to  many 
animals:  sheep  and  horses  are  fond  of  it: 
pigeons  are  kept  to  their  dove-cotes,  by  a 
lump  of  rock-salt  being  placed  within  their 
reach.  In  all  nations,  man  is  fond  of  it,  and 


22  SALT    HELD    SACRED. 

gives  much  to  obtain  it  as  a  relish  for  his  food. 
In  ancient  times,  it  was  the  symbol  of  friend- 
ship, and  the  test  or  bond  of  it.  To  have 
eaten  a  man's  salt,  was  sufficient  to  bind  the 
most  furious  passions.  Thieves,  who  have 
broken  into  a  house,  with  a  design  to  rob  and 
murder,  on  happening,  accidentally,  to  taste 
the  owner's  salt,  as  they  were  exploring  his 
premises,  have  been  known  immediately  to 
withdraw  ;  not  daring  to  violate  what  they 
were  accustomed  to  consider  as  a  binding 
engagement  to  do  him  no  injury. 

"The  manner  in  which  salt  is  spread  into 
countries  far  from  the  sea,  shews  a  kind  provi- 
sion for  our  wants ;  and  also  militates  against 
the  notion  of  such  masses  having  been  produced 
from  the  saltness  of  the  ocean.  That  it  is  found 
in  high  situations,  has  been  hinted  already.  In 
Spain,  near  Cordova,  is  a  hill,  much  higher  than 


SALT  EXTENSIVELY   DISSEMINATED.      23 

St.  Paul's  cathedral,  composed  of  salt  through 
its  whole  substance.  Another,  of  equal  size, 
is  found  in  India.  The  mines  of  Saltsburgh,  in 
Austria,  are  far  above  the  level  of  the  sea ;  and 
the  short  duration  of  the  Deluge  cannot  ac- 
count for  such  vast  accumulations.  Poland 
has  immense  mines  of  it,  as  we  shall  presently 
see.  In  the  mountains  of  the  Tyrol,  it  is  found; 
also  in  Russia,  at  the  Betski  mines,  great 
quantities  are  procured.  In  the  southern  parts 
of  Asia  Minor,  it  is  in  such  plenty,  and  so  hard, 
and  the  atmosphere  is  so  dry,  that  it  is  used  for 
building.  It  abounds  in  the  northern  parts  of 
Libya;  and  is  plentifully  stored  in  the  moun- 
tains of  Peru.  So  widely  spread  as  it  is,  so 
plenteously  provided,  it  may  fairly  be  supposed 
to  be  intended  for  important  purposes,  by  Him 
wrho  knew  what  the  wants  of  man  would  be ; 
and,  indeed,  what  would  be  the  occasions  for 
it,  in  the  globe,  as  an  habitation." 


24  SALTNESS   OF   THE   OCEAN. 

"  What,  are  these  stores  of  salt  of  any  use 
to  the  globe  itself?" 

"  Yes ;  He  who  planned  to  give  it  so  much 
sea,  knew,  that  by  saltness  only,  could  the 
ocean  be  kept  sweet.  So  far  from  supposing 
that  these  masses  of  salt  were  abstracted  from 
the  ocean,  I  think  it"  much  more  likely,  that 
the  saltness  of  the  ocean  is  occasioned  by  stores 
of  rock-salt  at  its  bottom.  We  can  trace  these 
beds  of  saline  substance  upon  the  land,  but  the 
depths  of  the  sea  are  hidden  from  us.  There 
is  nothing  irrational  in  the  supposition,  that 
there  may  be  also  mountains  and  layers  of  salt 
intermingled  with  the  mountains  of  rock,  which 
form  the  bed  of  the  sea.  The  continual  agita- 
tion of  the  waters  by  the  tides,  will  occasion 
a  continual  supply  of  the  saline  principle,  if 
that  be  needful.  The  saltness  of  the  sea  is 
absolutely  necessary,  to  preserve  it  from  putre- 


SALTNESS   OF  THE    OCEAN  2& 

faction.  Accordingly,  we  find  this  saltness  to  be 
greater  under  the  equator,  than  near  the  poles. 
At  the  equator,  the  great  heat  would  tend  more 
powerfully  to  engender  putrescency,  and  there 
this  grand  preservative  is  most  plenteously 
provided." 


SALT  WORKS  IN  FRANCE. 


SEA   SALT. 

"Axe  is  all  the  salt  used  by  the  nations  of 
the  earth,  obtained  from  a  few  salt  mines  1" 

"No.  This  is  called  rock-salt,  or  native 
salt;  but  much  is  obtained  from  the  sea,  by 
evaporation,  which  is  termed  bay-salt.  In 
maritime  countries,  where  the  sun  is  powerful, 
this  is  the  common  mode  by  which  salt  is  pro- 
cured. In  France,  especially,  there  are  several 
salt-works  of  this  kind,  on  the  western  coast, 
or  Bay  of  Biscay.  On  some  flat  part  of  the 
coast,  large  but  shallow  pits  are  dug,  gene- 
rally of  three  depths,  and  communicating  with 
each  other.  Into  the  first,  called  the  reservoir, 
the  sea  water  is  admitted  at  high  tide,  and 
penned  in  by  means  of  floodgates.  Being 


28        METHOD  OF   OBTAINING  SEA   SALT. 

thus  confined  in  a  very  shallow  pit,  the  heat 
of  the  sun  evaporates  the  watery  parts  rapidly. 
The  residuum  is  then  let  into  the  second,  or 
brine  pond,  which  is  shallower  than  the  former, 
and  on  which  the  sun  has  therefore  more 
power.  The  brine  is  afterwards  let  into  the 
third  pit,  called  the  salt  pan,  where  the  water 
is  not  two  inches  deep.  As  the  liquid  evapo- 
rates, the  salt,  which  cannot  fly  off,  is  left  as  a 
crust  upon  the  sides  of  the  pan ;  this  is  gather- 
ed up  every  day,  and  placed  in  heaps,  which 
are  thatched  over,  to  preserve  them  from  the 
weather.  This  work  occupies  from  May  to 
August.  If  the  season  be  favorable,  the  manu- 
facturers can  thus  obtain  from  the  sea,  in  two 
or  three  weeks,  salt  enough  for  the  whole 
kingdom  ;  but  they  also  make  much  more,  and 
export  it  to  other  nations. 

"  The  heat  of  the  sun  under  the  torrid  zone  is 


METHOD   OF  OBTAINING  SEA   SALT.       29 

sufficient  to  evaporate  pools  of  salt  water;  a 
large  quantity  of  salt  is  thus  produced,  and  may 
be  easily  collected.  But  the  sun  has  scarcely 
power  enougMn  England  for  this  process  :  yet, 
in  Kent  and  Hampshire,  thjre  are  pits  of  this 
kind,  in  which  the  water  is  so  far  evaporated 
by  the  sun,  that  a  small  degree  of  boiling  finishes 
the  process,  and  produces  the  salt.  The  brine 
is  made  during  the  hot  months,  and  kept  in 
large  cisterns,  to  be  boiled  at  leisure.  The 
boiling  is  sometimes  continued  till  the  end  of 
the  year." 


SALT   LAKES. 

SOME  inland  lakes  and  morasses  are  impreg 
nated  with  salt.  A  lake  of  this  kind  is  found  in 
Southern  Africa,  at  a  distance  from  the  sea, 
and  upon  a  height.  The  water  which  it  re- 
ceives during  the  rainy  season,  becomes  strong- 
ly impregnated  with  salt;  in  the  succeeding 
hot  weather,  this  water  is  evaporated ;  and  the 
salt  is  left  at  the  bottom  of  the  lake,  two  or 
three  feet  in  depth.  In  the  island  of  Ison- 
ming,  near  the  coast  of  China,  the  earth  is  in 
some  places  so  full  of  salt,  that  the  natives  dig 
it  out,  to  the  depth  of  a  foot.  This  earth  they 
carry  to  their  salt-works,  where  they  soak  it  in 
water  in  large  shallow  wooden  vessels;  and, 
by  afterwards  boiling  the  water,  they  obtain 


SAL1NA    SALT-WORKS.  31 

pure  salt.  In  the  western  part  of  the  State 
of  New  York,  at  a  great  distance  from  the  sea, 
are  numerous  salt  springs,  some  of  them  natural, 
and  others  made  by  boring  deep  through  earth 
and  rocks.  The  water  thus  obtained,  is  not  so 
salt  as  that  of  the  ocean,  yet  it  is  sufficiently 
strong  to  produce  great  quantities  of  salt,  by 
boiling  and  by  evaporation  in  the  sun. 

The  largest  of  these  salt-works  are  at  Salina, 
near  Onondaga  lake.  They  consist  of  several 
buildings,  each  containing  eighteen  or  twenty 
iron  boilers,  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  gallons 
capacity.  These  boilers  are  placed  in  two  rows, 
and  form  what  is  called  a  "  block."  They  are 
placed  about  three  feet  above  the  floor  of  the 
building,  and  under  them  is  a  large  furnace, 
which  is  always  heated  to  such  a  degree  as  to 
keep  the  water  boiling.  Pine  wood  is  used  for 


32  SALINA    SALT-WORKS. 

fuel,  which  creates  a  lively  blaze,  and  is  obtained 
plentifully  and  cheap,  in  the  neighborhood. 

A  large  cistern,  filled  with  water,  is  kept  at 
Dne  end  of  the  building,  and  the  water  is  con- 
veyed from  this,  through  a  hollow  log,  to  the 
boilers,  as  fast  as  it  boils  away.  After  boiling 
for  some  time,  there  settles  to  the  bottom  a 
substance  consisting  of  several  earthy  com- 
pounds. This  is  called  "  bittern,"  and  is  thrown 
away  as  useless.  The  boiling  being  continued, 
pure  white  salt  forms  in  the  boilers,  which  is 
taken  out  and  placed  in  a  store  room,  ready  for 
barreling. 

Near  the  Erie  canal,  are  a  great  number  of 
vats,  for  evaporation  of  the  water  by  heat  of  the 
sun.  These  vats  rest  upon  small  posts,  driven 
into  the  ground.  Some  of  these  are  six  or  seven 
hundred  feet  in  length.  They  are  about  eigh- 
teen feet  wide:  They  have  coverings  or  roofs, 


SAL1NA    SALT-WORKS.  33 

in  case  of  rain,  which  pass  on  and  off  by  rol- 
lers. 

Some  of  the  vats  are  deeper  than  others,  and 
the  deepest  are  first  filled  with  water,  from 
reservoirs,  at  hand.  Here  the  water  stands  for 
some  time,  till  it  throws  off  a  quantity  of  iron, 
or  coloring  matter,  which  appears  on  the  surface 
in  the  shape  of  a  pellicle,  or  thin  skin. 

After  this,  the  water  is  passed  through  hollow 
logs  into  the  shallower  vats,  where  it  remains 
exposed  to  the  sun  ;  and,  after  a  while,  deposits 
a  quantity  of  sulphate  and  carbonate  of  lime. 

The  salt  now  begins  to  appear,  and  crystalize 
on  the  surface.  The  water  is  drawn  off  again, 
into  the  vats,  in  which  the  salt  is  deposited  as 
fast  as  the  sun  dries  up  the  water.  This  is 
done  in  a  longer  or  shorter  time,  according  to 
the  season,  the  dryness  of  the  air,  and  the 
strength  of  the  wind.  After  all  the  salt  has 
3 


34  SALINA    SALT-WORKS 

crystalized,  it  is  shoveled  into  tubs,  and  drained 
of  what  water  remains  in  it.  It  is  then  convey- 
ed in  carts  to  the  store-houses. 

Here  are  also  works  for  making  salt  by  steam. 
All  the  salt  made  by  these  methods,  is  very 
pure  and  white.  It  is  commonly  packed  in 
barrels,  containing  five  bushels,  and  is  inspected 
and  branded  by  an  officer  of  the  government. 
The  quantity  made  here,  is  between  one  and 
two  million  bushels  annually. 


SALT. 

POLAND. 

"BuT,"  said  James, "  what  are  the  Polish  salt 
mines,  of  which  I  have  heard  such  wonders  1" 

"  Several  travellers  have  visited  those  mines, 
and  have  given  us  accounts  of  them ;  perhaps 
the  substance  of  their  descriptions  may  afford 
us  instruction  and  amusement. 

"The  mines  of  Cracow,  as  they  are  fre- 
quently called,  though  they  are  indeed  between 
six  and  eight  miles  from  thence,  are  at  a  village 
named  Wielitska,  situated  on  a  ridge  of  hills, 
adjoining  the  Carpathian  mountains.  The 
mode  of  descent  into  the  mine,  at  the  principal 
opening,  is  by  means  of  hammocks,  fastened 
to  a  great  rope,  by  which  the  loads  of  salt  are 


36      PERILOUS  DESCENT  INTO  THE  MINE. 

drawn  up.  c  We  were  let  down  gently/  says 
Mr.  Coxe,  *  without  any  apprehension  of  dan- 
ger, although  the  depth  was  almost  five  hun- 
dred feet ;'  (one  quarter  as  high  again  as  St. 
Paul's.)  When  they  stepped  out  of  their  ham- 
mocks, they  were  not  at  their  journey's  end ; 
for  they  had  yet  to  descend  a  slope,  which  in 
some  places  was  very  broad ;  in  others,  the 
pathway  was  cut  in  the  rock,  into  stairs,  which 
were  rather  slippery,  but,  being  wide,  and  glit- 
tering with  the  lights,  which  the  visitors  car- 
ried, had  the  appearance  of  a  grand  staircase 
in  a  palace.  To  some  lower  places,  the  de- 
scent was  by  ladders.  Every  visitor  carried  a 
light,  as  did  each  of  the  guides.  The  bril- 
liance occasioned  hereby  was  considerable  and 
peculiar.  Mr.  Wraxall  describes  one  vast 
chamber,  in  which,  he  says,  '  a  thousand  peo- 
ple might  dine  without  inconvenience;'  so 


SUBTERRANEOUS  RESIDENCES.     37 

large,  indeed,  that  the  flambeaux  hardly  en- 
abled him  to  discern  the  sides ;  it  seemed 
without  limits. 

"When  fairly  descended  into  the  mine,  the 
traveller  finds  an  underground  country.  There 
is  no  sun,  nor  sky ;  but  there  are  roads,  with 
horses  and  carriages  travelling  in  them;  with 
multitudes  of  people,  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren ;  many  are  oorn  tnere,  and  pass  in  those 
caverns  great  part  of  their  lives.  This  is, 
however,  voluntary  on  their  parts;  for  those 
who  choose  to  ascend  in  the  intervals  of  labor, 
are  not  denied  the  opportunity  of  breathing 
the  fresh  air  in  the  fields,  and  enjoying  the 
]ight  of  day.  The  horses,  however,  once  taken 
down,  continue  there,  and  never  return  to  day- 
light ;  but  are  foddered  and  sleep  in  sheds  cut 
in  the  salt  rock. 

"  Many  of  the  chambers  are  very  large,  and 


38        INTERIOR    OF    THE    POLISH    MINES. 

supported  by  pillars  cf  salt,  left  for  the  purpose ; 
some  of  them  are  thirty  or  forty,  and  some  se- 
venty or  eighty  feet  in  height,  without  any  sup- 
port except  from  the  sides.  The  roads  and  gal- 
leries branch  out  in  many  directions.  In  some 
parts,  they  are  very  intricate ;  so  that  persons, 
whose  light  has  been  accidentally  extinguished, 
have  perished,  not  being  able  to  find  their  way 
back  again.  The  length  already  excavated 
exceeds  a  mile,  and  the  breadth  is  nearly  half 
as  much.  How  much  larger  the  stratum  of 
salt  is,  cannot  be  known:  the  depth  already 
dug  is  above  seven  hundred  feet. 

"Those  who  shew  the  mine,  are  careful  to 
point  out  to  strangers  thfe  various  elegant  cha- 
pels hewn  in  the  solid  salt  rock.  The  altar- 
piece,  the  ornaments,  a  large  crucifix,  and  sta- 
tues of  the  saints,  are  all  cut  out  of  the  same 
glittering  material ;  and,  when  illuminated  for 


LOT'S    WIFE.  39 

worship,  have  a  splendid  appearance.  Mass 
is  said  in  them  (for  they  are  Roman  Catholics) 
on  certain  days  in  the  year. 

"One  statue  is  appropriate  at  least:  it  is 
a  representation  of  Lot's  wife,  who  was,  you 
know,  turned  into  a  pillar  of  salt ;  and  it  has 
been  there  so  long,  that  most  of  the  inhabit- 
ants believe  it  to  be  the  very  mass  of  salt 
formed  on  that  occasion,  writh  herself  in  the 
midst  of  it ! 

"It  seems  remarkable,  that  all  these  places, 
though  formed  of  salt,  are  very  dry.  There  is 
one  rivulet  of  water  running  through  the  mine, 
which  is  originally  fresh,  but  becomes  saltish, 
by  running  in  the  channel  which  it  has  worn  in 
the  salt  rock.  The  rock  is  hewn  with  pick- 
axes; much  after  the  same  manner  as  in  the 
English  mines,  in  Cheshire. 

"There  are  other  mines  also  in  the  neigh 


40    PRODUCT  OP  THE  POLISH   SALT   MINES. 

borhood,  which  have  been  wrought  above  six 
hundred  years ;  yet  the  laborers  have  not 
come  to  the  extremity  of  the  stratum  of  salt,  in 
any  direction.  Between  four  and  five  hundred 
miners  are  employed  in  these  wrorks ;  and  the 
whole  number  of  men  engaged  in  them  is  about 
seven  hundred.  Each  continues  at  his  work 
for  eight  hours ;  and  then,  if  he  chooses,  rises 
again  to  the  surface.  About  six  hundred  thou- 
sand quintals,  or  sixty  million  pounds  of  salt 
have  been  annually  raised  from  these  mines. 

"While  Poland  had  a  king,  he  derived  a 
considerable  revenue  from  these  mines ;  it  is 
said  nearly  £100,000  sterling,*  every  year. 
Since  the  partition  of  Poland  by  the  neigh- 
boring potentates,  they  belong  to  the  Emperor 
of  Austria.  His  officers,  however,  have  in  their 
avarice  outwitted  themselves ;  for,  supposing 

*  Nearly  450,000  dollars. 


AVARICE    DEFEATED.  41 

Poland  must  have  this  salt  at  any  rate,  they 
have  raised  the  price  of  it  exorbitantly.  The 
King  of  Prussia,  seizing  this  opportunity  to  en- 
rich his  own  subjects,  imports  great  quantities 
of  salt  from  other  countries,  and  sends  it  into 
Poland,  where  it  is  sold  at  a  cheaper  rate  than 
that  which  is  dug  up  in  the  immediate  vicinity 
of  the  consumers.  The  mines  of  Wielitska, 
therefore,  now  only  supply  a  small  space  of 
country;  and  their  productiveness  in  revenue 
is  much  diminished." 

"  That  serves  the  Emperor  right,  for  his 
covetousness,"  said  James. — "  Rather,  perhaps," 
replied  Mr.  Thompson,  "  the  Emperor  himself 
knows  nothing  about  it.  His  ministers,  or 
commissioners,  have  thus  cheated  themselves : 
it  is  a  very  common  mistake." 
D 


ENGLISH    MINES. 

"  How  I  should  like  to  go  abroad,"  said 
James,  "  and  see  all  the  mines  in  foreign  coun- 
tries I" 

"  That  would  be  rather  a  long  business," 
said  Mr.  Thompson ;  "  it  would  exceed  your 
present  holidays." 

"  Oh  yes,  father  !  But  I  should  like  it,  I  am 
sure.  It  would  be  so  amusing,  and  so  instruc- 
tive !" 

"  Amusing  came  first,  James,  I  believe,  be- 
cause it  lies  uppermost  in  your  mind.  If  that 
be  your  object,  I  should  think  enough  might 
be  found  in  England  to  fill  up  your  time,  and 
empty  my  pockets.  Those  are  two  bounda- 
ries to  our  pursuits,  which  have  a  very  power- 


CURIOSITY  ENHANCED   BY  DISTANCE.     43 

ful  influence  in  circumscribing  our  actual  con- 
duct ;  and  they  should  have  their  influence  in 
checking  the  wildness  of  our  otherwise  illimi- 
table desires." 

"  Yes,  father,  I  am  sure  I  am  very  much 
obliged  to  you  for  bringing  me  such  a  journey 
as  this ;  and  procuring  me  the  sight  of  such 
wonderful  places.  Only,  I  suppose,  there  are 
more  wonderful  places  still  abroad  ?" 

"  There  are  very  wonderful  places  abroad, 
no  doubt ;  but,  why  you  should  think  they  are 
more  wonderful  than  those  in  England,  I  do  not 
perceive.  Though  a  mine  be  a  little  larger,  or 
a  little  deeper  in  one  country  than  in  another ; 
yet  the  sight  of  one  conveys  as  true  an  idea  to 
the  mind,  as  to  the  real  nature  of  that  sort  of 
excavation,  or  that  sort  of  mineral,  as  if  you 
had  seen  twenty.  You  have  been  actually 
down  into  the  salt  mines  at  Northwich.  The 


44  ENGLISH    MINES. 

color,  the  brilliancy  of  the  salt,  the  mode  of 
propping  up  the  mine,  the  grandeur  of  the  vast 
cavern,  and  the  hazards  of  descending  into  such 
a  place,  and  coming  up  again ;  these  and  many 
other  particulars  you  know,  and  will  probably 
never  forget." 

"  That  I  shall  not,  I  am  sure,  father.  How 
I  was  astonished  and  surprised !  I  never  could 
have  fancied  what  such  a  place  was,  in  a  thou- 
sand particulars,  if  I  had  not  seen  it  myself." 

"  And  did  not  that  actual  inspection  enable 
you  to  understand  the  accounts,  which  I  com- 
piled for  you,  of  the  Polish  salt  mines  at  Wie- 
litska?" 

"  Oh  yes,  father,  I  was  quite  interested  in 
that  account ;  it  was  so  curious !  And,  as  you 
say,  I  understood  it  clearly,  because  I  remem- 
bered what  I  had  seen." 

"  Now  England   can   furnish  us  with  speci- 


EXCELLENCE  OF  ENGLISH  MACHINERY.  45 

mens  of  almost  every  sort  of  mine :  and  it  has 
some  peculiar  to  itself.  A  person,  whose  pro- 
fession was  mineralogy,  might  find  it  worth 
while  to  visit  even  the  mines  of  Potosi  and  of 
Kolyvan,  though  situated  in  different  quarters 
of  the  world :  but  our  object  is  only  to  obtain 
general  knowledge,  and,  especially,  to  inform 
your  mind  on  a  point  of  so  much  importance. 
I  am  content  to  travel  over  England,  therefore ; 
it  holds  all  we  want." 

"  Yes,  father :  I  do  not  wish,  I  am  sure,  to 
drag  you  either  to  Potosi  or  to  (what  do  you 
call  it  ?)  Kolyvan.  I  am  very  thankful  for  what 
you  are  doing ;  and  very  much  interested  in 
what  I  am  gaining." 

"  There  is  one  particular,  in  which  England 
excels  most  countries ;  that  is,  the  machinery 
by  which  these  grand  works  are  conducted. 
The  princely  establishments  of  the  various  ma- 


46  STEAM-ENGINES. 

nufactures,  or  mine  proprietors,  would  not  be 
found  abroad.  The  scientific  modes  of  opera- 
tion, too,  are  much  better  understood  and 
practised  with  us.  Not  above  two  thirds  of 
the  silver  is  obtained  from  the  ore  at  Potosi, 
because  the  work  is  performed  in  an  ignorant 
and  slovenly  manner.  Then,  the  power  of 
machinery  can  nowhere  be  seen  to  so  much 
advantage  as  here.  In  Cornwall,  there  are 
steam-engines  in  full  work,  each  of  a  thousand 
horse  power,  capable  of  raising  fifty  million 
pounds  of  water  through  the  space  of  a  foot, 
with  only  the  expense  in  fuel  of  one  bushel  of 
coals.  Such  is  the  mode  by  which  the  power 
of  these  gigantic  machines  are  estimated. 

"  We  ought  never  to  think  of  the  vast  trea- 
sures which  Divine  Providence  has  concealed  in 
the  bowels  of  the  earth,  without  being  reminded 
of  the  wisdom  of  the  adorable  Creator.  If  mines 


REMARKS.  47 

of  coal,  salt,  iron,  and  of  minerals  in  general, 
had  been  near  the  surface  of  the  globe,  what 
an  immense  portion  of  it  would  have  been  ren- 
dered unfit  to  produce  either  grass  for  cattle, 
or  grain  for  the  nourishment  of  man." 


DIAMONDS. 

EAST  INDIES. 

"You  know  the  fable  of  the  cock,  who 
found  a  diamond  necklace  on  a  dunghill?" 

"  Yes,  father ;  and  he  wished  it  had  been  a 
grain  or  twro  of  barley." 

"  Was  he  wise  in  that,  James ;  or  ignorant 
and  silly?" 

"  I  should  have  liked  the  diamond  best. 
How  it  would  have  sparkled  on  mother's  bo- 
som!" 

"  Why,  yes,  James,  the  grain  or  two  of 
barley  would  have  been  of  no  use  to  you.  But 
remember,  I  was  not  asking  for  your  judgment, 
or  your  wishes,  in  such  a  case  ;  but*  rather 
your  opinion  of  chanticleer." 


DIAMONDS.  49 

"Then,  I  think,"  said  James,  "he  was  quite 
In  the  right,  to  prefer  somewhat  which  was 
useful,  to  that  which  was  merely  ornamental, 
however  splendid." 

"  Keep  that  opinion  in  mind,  James ;  in 
the  course  of  your  life,  it  may  save  you  many 
pounds.  Yet,  if  nobody  bought  any  thing  but 
what  is  absolutely  useful,  many  of  the  finer  arts 
of  life  would  be  uncultivated,  and  the  artists, 
who  excel  in  them,  must  starve.  So,  let  the 
dunghill  cock  look  after  barley  ;  neither  he  nor 
his  pullets  would  be  happier,  nor  indeed  finer, 
for  a  diamond  necklace.  While,  however, 
these  bright  gems  are  prized  for  ornament,  (as 
that  is  the  only  use  which  can  be  made  of  them,) 
we  may  as  well  go  on  with  our  mining,  and 
travel,  by  the  help  of  books,  into  the  countries 
where  diamonds  are  found." 
4  E 


50  DIAMONDS. 

"Have  we  no  diamond  mines  in  England, 
papa?" 

"  We  have  some  very  brilliant  stones,  in 
several  places ;  but  no  true  diamonds.  The 
Bristol  stones,  found  about  St.  Vincent's  rocks,* 
are  in  high  repute,  and  deservedly,  for  their 
brilliancy.  Cornish  diamonds  are  also  in 
esteem." 

"What!  are  real  diamonds  only  found  in 
the  East  Indies?" 

"  For  many  ages,  all  our  diamonds  came 
from  the  East ;  and,  of  course,  they  were  very 
scarce.  It  was  not  till  long  after  the  dis- 
covery of  America,  that  diamonds  were  found 
in  Brazil.  It  has  been  remarked,  that  diamonds 
are  found  only  in  the  torrid  zone ;  and  also 
that  the  Brazil  mines  are  at  the  same  distance 


*  Rocks  on  each  side  of  the  river  Avon,  about  three  miles  below 
Bristol. 


BEAUTY   OF   THE   DIAMOND.  51 

from  the  equator  on  its  southern  side,  as  those 
of  the  East  Indies  are  on  its  northern  side. 

"The  beauty  of  the  diamond  is  greatest 
when  you  are  unable  to  see  it :  that  is,  when 
it  is  so  perfectly  pellucid  and  clear,  that  the 
stone  itself  is  not  discerned,  but  only  the  bril- 
liant ray  of  light,  which  its  polished  surface 
reflects. 

"  It  is  compared  to  a  drop  of  perfectly  clear 
spring  water;  and  its  denomination,  when 
brightest,  is  a  diamond  of  the  first  water. 
When  compared  to  water  by  weight,  the  dia- 
mond is  found  to  be  three  and  a  half  times 
more  heavy  than  the  purest  water. 

"  The  diamond  mines  in  the  kingdom  of 
Golconda*  have  been  long  in  the  highest  esteem. 

*  Golconda  is  a  province  of  Hindoostan.  It  is  now  known  by 
the  name  of  Hyderabad.  Formerly  the  mines  of  Raolconda  and 
Coulour  employed  many  thousand  men,  but  now  they  have  ceased 
to  be  important,  and  hardly  pay  the  expense  of  working  them 


52  RAOLCONDA    MINE. 

A  principal  mine  is  at  Raolconda,  five  days' 
journey  from  the  city  of  Golconda :  it  was  dis- 
covered in  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth 
century.  The  country  is  woody  and  rocky, 
approaching  the  ranges  of  hills  which  run  across 
the  province.  In  the  crevices  of  the  rocks, 
is  sometimes  found  a  sort  of  vein  of  sand,  not 
more  than  an  inch  wide,  and  frequently  not 
above  half  that  size ;  so  that  the  miners  are 
obliged  to  employ  hooked  irons,  with  which 
they  rake  out  the  earth  and  sand ;  and  among 
this  loose  stuff,  the  diamonds  are  found.  They 
wash  it,  therefore,  with  great  care,  securing 
all  the  stones  it  contains.  When  the  vein 
ceases,  they  split  the  rock  still  farther,  by  fire, 
and  thus  recover  the  vein,  or  find  another ;  for 
the  vein  will  run,  sometimes,  nearly  a  quarter 
of  a  mile. 
"The  value  of  these  gems  being  very  great, 


THE   GREAT    MOGUL'S    DIAMOND.          53 

and  the  secreting  of  them  easy,  the  miners  are 
made  to  work  quite  naked.  There  are  also 
persons  incessantly  on  the  watch,  to  prevent 
their  concealing  them.  With  all  this  vigilance, 
however,  they  are  sometimes  deceived ;  as  the 
miners  frequently  swallow  them,  and  thus  get 
off  with  them  without  detection. 

"  The  famous  diamond,  belonging  to  the 
Great  Mogul,  was  found  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Gani,  or  Coulour,  which  is  seven  days'  jour- 
ney from  Golconda.  This  mine  was  discovered, 
about  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  by  a  pea- 
sant, who. was  digging,  and  met  with  one  dia- 
mond of  twenty-five  carats  weight.*  That  of  the 

*  The  value  of  diamonds  is  ascertained  by  their  weight  in  carats, 
and  this  value  increases  in  a  very  high  ratio,  according  to  their 
magnitude.  For  instance,  a  diamond  weighing  one  carat  might  be 
worth  about  £8 ;  while  another  of  five  carats  would  be  worth  £200  ; 
often  carats,  £800;  and  of  twenty  carats,  £3,200. 

A  carat  is  equal  to  four  jeweller's  grains,  seven  grains  of  which 


54  THE   GREAT   MOGUL'S   DIAMOND. 

Great  Mogul  weighed,  before  it  was  cut,  almost 
eight  hundred  carats.  It  is  not  common  to  find 

are  equal  to  six  grains  troy.  To  ascertain  the  value  of  wrought 
diamonds,  the  weight  must  be  doubled,  about  half  being  supposed 
to  be  lost  in  the  working.  This  sum  must  be  multiplied  into  itself, 
and  the  product  by  two.  Thus,  to  find  the  value  of  a  diamond  of 
20  carats,  multiply  20  by  two— the  product  is  40 — this  multiplied  by 
itself,  becomes  1600 — and  this  multiplied  by  two,  gives  £3,200. 

In  the  possession  of  the  Rajah  of  Mattan,  in  the  island  of  Borneo, 
is  a  large  diamond,  shaped  like  an  egg,  with  an  indented  hollow 
near  the  smaller  end.  It  was  found  in  that  island  about  80  years 
ago.  It  is  said  to  be  of  the  finest  water,  and  weighs  367  carats,  or 
more  than  two  ounces  and  a  quarter.  Several  years  ago,  the  gover- 
nor of  Batavia,  desirous  of  purchasing  this  gem,  sent  a  Mr.  Stewart 
to  the  Rajah,  authorizing  him  to  offer  for  it  150,000  dollars,  two 
large  brigs  of  war,  with  their  guns  and  ammunition,  together  with 
a  certain  number  of  great  guns,  and  a  quantity  of  powder  and  shot. 
The  Rajah,  however,  refused  to  deprive  his  family  of  so  valuable 
an  hereditary  possession  5  the  Malays  not  only  attaching  to  it  the  mi- 
raculous power  of  curing  all  diseases,  but  also  believing  that  the  for- 
tune of  the  family  is  sustained  by  its  continuing  in  their  possession. 

The  sceptre  of  the  Emperor  of  Russia  is  adorned  with  an  oriental 
diamond  about  the  size  of  a  pigeon's  egg,  which  weighs  195  carats. 
This  is  said  to  have  once  been  placed  as  the  eye  of  an  idol  in  Ser- 
ingham,  in  the  Carnatic.  A  grenadier,  who  had  deserted  from  the 


MINE    AT    GANI.  55 

them  above  the  weight  of  from  ten  to  forty.  The 
earth  hereabouts  is  of  different  colors,  red, 

French  service  in  India,  contrived  to  become  one  of  the  priests  of 
the  idol,  in  the  hope  of  being  able  to  steal  this  eye,  which  at  length 
he  effected,  and  escaped  with  it  to  Madras,  where  he  sold  it  to  the 
captain  of  a  ship,  for  a  sum  equal  to  £2,500  of  British  money.  It  was 
afterwards  transferred  to  a  Jew  for  £1^000.  Coming  into  the  hands 
of  a  Greek  merchant,  he  offered  it  for  sale  at  Amsterdam,  in  1766  ; 
and  the  Russian  prince  Orloff,  bought  it  for  the  Empress  Catharine 
for  about  £90,000  sterling,  and  an  annuity  of  £4,000  during  the 
life  of  the  person  who  sold  it. 

The  Pitt  or  regent  diamond,  which  was  set  in  the  handle  of  the 
sword  of  state  of  Buonaparte,  is  a  brilliant  of  the  most  beautiful 
kind,  and  weighs  136  3-4  carats.  It  was  brought  from  India  by 
George  Pitt,  Esq.  Governor  of  Bencoolen,  in  Sumatra,  and  was 
sold  by  him  for  £130,000  to  the  Regent  Duke  of  Orleans,  who 
placed  it  among  the  crown  jewels  of  France. 

The  Pigot  diamond,  of  47  1-2  carats.  This,  which  is  an  extremely 
fine  stone,  was  disposed  of  by  lottery  in  1800,  for  £22,000. 

A  large  star  and  cross,  worn  on  grand  gala  days  by  the  Prince  of 
Brazil,  as  sovereign  of  the  different  orders  of  Portuguese  orders  of 
knighthood,  are  each  composed  of  a  great  number  of  magnificent 
diamonds,  set  in  gold.  The  centre  diamond  of  the  star  is  alone 
valued  at  £80,000,  and  the  whole  of  the  star  and  cross  are  said  to 
be  worth  nearly  four  millions  sterling. 


56  MINE   AT    GANI. 

green,  and  yellow ;  and  the  diamonds  are  fre- 
quently tinged  with  the  sarne,  which  reduces 
their  splendor,  and,  of  course,  their  estimation. 

"The  importance  of  this  mine  appears  in 
the  number  of  persons  employed  in  it,  being 
frequently  as  many  as  sixty  thousand.  Their 
manner  of  operating  is  as  follows :  When,  on 
examining  the  ground,  they  find  a  spot,  which,  to 
those  accustomed  to  the  search,  appears  likely 
to  afford  diamonds,  they  begin,  in  some  place 
near  at  hand,  to  form  a  cistern  or  pool,  with 
clay ;  into  this  the  women  and  children  bring 
the  earth,  which  the  men  have  dug  out  of  the 
appointed  spot.  Here,  with  water,  they  loosen 
the  earth,  breaking  the  clods,  and  permitting 

When  the  diamond  is  rubbed,  it  will  attract  bits  of  straw,  hairs, 
feathers,  and  other  small  objects ;  and  if  exposed  to  the  rays  of  the 
sun,  and  immediately  taken  into  a  dark  place,  will  appear  lumim  us. 

WillicVs  Enc. 


DIAMOND  WASHING  AT  QOLCONDA. 


58  MiNE    AT    GANT. 

the  ligter  mud  to  run  off.  The  plain,  on  which 
they  operate,  is  about  five  miles  wide,  with  a 
river  on  one  side  and  mountains  on  the  other. 
When  the  miners  come  to  water,  they  do  not 
dig  any  deeper.  The  stony  substances,  which 
remain  after  the  earthy  particles  are  washed 
away,  are  carefully  sifted,  and  then  examined 
in  a  bright  noonday  light,  which  is  reflected 
by  the  diamonds,  and  aids  the  research.  Those 
who  are  accustomed  to  the  business,  are  so  ex- 
pert that  they  can  discover  the  diamonds  by 
the  nice  feeling  of  their  fingers." 

"  Then  diamonds  are  always  found  by  dig- 
ging 1"  said  James. 

"Not  so  fast,  James;  the  term  Mine,  in 
most  cases,  seems  to  intimate  a  place  under 
ground ;  but  this  is  not  the  case  at  Gani,  for 
there,  what  is  called  a  Mine,  is  of  a  quite  dif- 
ferent nature.  Indeed,  it  is,  of  all  diamond 


PERSONS   EMPLOYED.  59 

mines,  the  mcst  ancient.  It  is  situate  in  the 
province  of  Bengal,  amongst  the  sands  of  the 
river  Goual,  which  runs  into  the  Ganges. 
Being  near  the  city  of  Soumelpour,  it  is  often 
called  by  that  name.  From  this  spot,  those 
small  but  splendid  brilliants,  called  sparks,  are 
procured.  The  violent  rains,  which  increase 
the  torrents  from  the  mountains,  bring  down 
these  precious  gems.  When  these  rains  are  pret- 
ty well  over,  that  is,  about  the  month  of  Decem- 
ber, or,  possibly,  not  till  January,  if  the  waters 
do  not  get  clear,  the  operation  of  searching  for 
diamonds  commences.  Frequently,  ten  thou- 
sands persons  from  the  city  and  its  neighbor- 
hood assemble.  To  all  ages  and  sexes,  it  is  a 
sort  of  harvest;  for  the  children  can  help. 
Those  more  accustomed  to  the  search,  examine 
the  sands  of  the  river,  tracing  them  up  to  the 
mountains ;  as  it  is  near  them  that  the  larger 


60  MODE    OF    SEARCH. 

diamonds  are  usually  found.  When  they  come 
to  a  place  which  they  expect  may  be  produc- 
tive, they  separate  a  portion  of  the  sands,  by 
making  a  dam  in  the  river,  all  around  the 
spot,  with  faggots,  stones,  and  clay.  After 
emptying  the  water  out  of  this  inclosed  por- 
tion, so  as  to  leave  the  sands  dry,  they  dig  to 
the  depth  of  half  a  yard,  or  more ;  and  carry 
what  is  dug  up  to  a  sort  of  cistern,  walled  in 
near  at  hand,  as  before.  There  they  wash,  and 
examine  it  carefully;  trusting  chiefly  to  the 
accuracy  of  their  fingers,  for  discovering  the 
precious  pebbles. 

"  The  river  Succudan,  in  the  island  of  Borneo, 
is  said  to  abound  in  diamonds;  but  strangers 
are  not  permitted  to  go  thither.  Now  and  then, 
however,  by  great  cunning  and  caution,  some 
very  excellent  stones  have  been  obtained  by 
the  Dutch,  and  sold  at  Batavia." 


DIAMONDS. 

BRAZIL. 

"  It  wab  not  till  1 728,  that  the  diamond  was 
discovered  in  the  Brazils,  in  South  America. 
The  manner  of  the  discovery  was  thus  : — The 
negroes,  who  were  condemned  to  search  for 
gold,  often  found,  among  the  sand  and  gravel, 
little  bright  stones,  which,  not  being  gold,  they 
threw  away.  Some  of  the  miners  preserved  a 
few  of  these  stones,  and  shewed  them  to  the 
governor.  As  he  had  been  in  the  East  Indies, 
he  immediately  suspected  them  to  be  diamonds, 
and  sent  them  to  Europe,  where,  after  being 
cut  and  set,  they  proved  to  be  diamonds  of 
very  fine  water,  though  not  equal  to  those  oi 
•Golconda. 


62  BRAZIL    DIAMONDS. 

"The  place  is  called  Cerro-do-Frio,  and  is 
situated  to  the  north  of  Villa  Rica.*  The  coun- 
try round  about  seems  to  be  impregnated  with 
iron  ores;  and  the  earth,  among  which  dia- 
monds are  found,  is  ferruginous  to  a  conside- 
rable degree.  The  miners  come  to  this  bed  of 
diamonds,  as  soon  as  they  have  removed  the 
common  vegetable  soil  Connection  with  iron 
ores  seems  to  be  general  in  all  places  where 
diamonds  are  found. 

"  At  the  river  Jigitonhonhaf  is  the  most  im- 
portant of  the  Brazilian  mines.  The  course  of 

*  Villa  Rica,  to  the  north  of  which  lies  Cerro-do-Frio,  is  a  con- 
siderable city  of  Brazil,  situated  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  north 
of  Rio  Janerio.  It  owes  its  origin  to  the  rage  for  discovering 
gold  mines.  It  was  begun  in  1711.  It  now  retains  but  little  of  its 
former  splendor,  the  mines  in  its  neighborhood  being  much  less 
productive  than  formerly. 

f  This  river  runs  north-east  and  flows  into  the  Rio  Grande,  in 
lat.  16°,  49'. 


MODE    OF    SEARCH.  63 

the  river  is  impeded  by  the  miners,  by  a  bank, 
raised  by  several  thousand  bags  of  sand.  The 
pools  thus  formed  are  then  pumped  dry ;  the 
mud  of  the  river  is  washed  away,  and  the  earth, 
in  which  they  expect  to  find  diamonds,  is  dug 
out,  and  carried  for  washing  and  searching. 
This  is  done  with  considerable  care  and  regu- 
larity. They  erect  a  kind  of  shed,  consisting 
of  upright  posts,  supporting  a  thatched  roof, 
to  shelter  the  negroes  while  at  work.  This  is 
about  a  hundred  feet  long,  and  almost  half  as 
wide.  Through  the  middle  of  this  shed,  a  cur- 
rent of  water  is  made  to  flow,  for  washing  the 
earth  which  they  are  about  to  search.  On  the 
sides  of  the  stream  are  several  wooden  troughs, 
each  about  a  yard  wide ;  and  in  every  trough 
is  a  negro  slave,  with  a  rake  contrived  for  the 
purpose.  The  earth  to  be  examined  is  raked 
into  the  trough,  in  the  quantity  of  about  half 


64  FINDING   A    DIAMOND. 

a  bushel  at  a  time ;  and  the  water  is  suffered 
to  run  into  each  trough  in  a  gentle  current. 
Meanwhile,  each  negro,  with  his  rake,  spreads 
the  earth  about  under  this  stream  of  water.  It 
is  raked  again  and  again  to  the  upper  part  of 
the  trough,  that  it  may  be  thoroughly  washed ; 
which  is  known  by  the  water  running  free  from 
earthy  particles.  This  effect  is  produced  in 
about  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  if  the  whole  be 
kept  in  constant  motion.  What  now  remains 
is  a  sort  of  gravel.  The  largest  stones  being 
of  no  value,  are  thrown  away ;  it  is  only  among 
the  smaller  pebbles,  that  they  are  likely  to  find 
diamonds.  Three  overseers,  seated  in  chairs, 
are  appointed  to  watch  the  process,  that  the 
negroes  may  not  secrete  any  for  their  own 
emolument. 

"When   a  negro   discovers   a  diamond,  he 
immediately    stands     upright    and    claps    his 


REWARDS    TO    THE    SLAVES.  65 

hands,  to  give  notice  to  the  overseers :  he  then, 
holding  it  between  his  fore  finger  and  thumb, 
presents  it  to  them,  and  they  immediately  put 
it  into  a  bowl  of  water,  which  is  suspended  from 
the  roof.  At  the  close  of  each  day's  labor,  the 
bowl  of  diamonds  is  carried  to  the  principal 
agent,  who  weighs  and  counts  them,  and  enters 
in  a  book  the  weight  and  number  of  the  day's 
research." 

"Poor  negroes!"  said  James:  "that  is 
slaving  for  others  without  hope  for  them- 
selves!" 

"Not  quite  so,"  said  his  father.  "It  some- 
times happens  that  a  negro  finds  a  diamond  of 
larger  size  than  usual ;  one  that  weighs  seven- 
teen and  a  half  carats ;  and  this  is  a  happy  day 
for  him.  He  is  directly  crowned  with  a  wreath 
of  flowers,  and  led  in  gay  procession  to  the 
proper  magistrate,  who  immediately  pays  his 
5  F 


66  SUBSTANCE    OF    THE    DIAMOND. 

owner  the  price  of  his  liberty,  and  sets  him 
free.  He  also  receives  a  present  of  new 
clothes ;  and  may  work  on  his  own  account,  if 
he  pleases.  Smaller  diamonds  may  gain  re- 
wards, if  they  exceed  certain  fixed  sizes.  If  a 
negro  is  suspected  to  have  swallowed  one,  he 
is  kept  in  close  confinement  till  the  fact  can  be 
ascertained. 

"  When  these  treasures  were  first  discover- 
ed in  Brazil,  diamonds  were  obtained  in  great 
plenty.  The  first  fleet  from  thence  brought  so 
large  a  number,  that  orders  were  sent  over 
from  the  Portuguese  government,  to  decrease 
the  number  of  hands  employed  in  searching  for 
them ;  lest  their  abundance  should  make  them 
quite  common  things,  and,  by  lowering  the 
price  of  those  already  brought  over,  spoil  the 
trade. 

"  It  is  very  remarkable,  that  diamonds  are  of 


SUBSTANCE   OF   THE   DIAMOND.  67 

the  same  substance  as  charcoal ;  a  fact  which, 
in  the  progress  of  your  studies,  you  will  be 
made  acquainted  with.  To  many  persons,  it 
must  appear  incredible,  that  the  darkest  and 
the  brightest  substances  in  nature  should  be 
so  nearly  allied." 


TIN. 
CORNWALL. 

"  WE  have  come  over  a  rather  dreary  coun- 
try," said  James.  "I  do  not  much  like  those 
barren  moors  of  Cornwall*  What  a  continual 
up  and  down  it  was  !  There  seemed  to  be  no 
end  to  the  hills ;  and  they  were  all  so  wild, 
rugged,  and  bleak  I" 

"Every  county  in  England  has  its  specific 
character.  Many  smiling  vales  there  are,  rich 
in  pasture  and  in  grain  ;  and  many  woody  hills, 

*  Cornwall,  the  most  westerly  county  of  England,  and  almost 
an  island,  being  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  the  sea,  except  towards 
the  east,  where  it  is  bounded  by  Devonshire,  for  the  length  of 
forty-eight  miles,  from  north  to  south.  The  general  aspect  of  the 
country  is  dreary  and  sterile,  with  occasional  fertile  valleys. 


TIN   MINES.  69 

with  their  dense  darkness  or  thin  light  foliage 
waving  beneath  the  blue  sky,  in  the  most  pic- 
turesque manner ;  but  in  general,  we  must  not 
among  such  scenery  expect  to  find  mines 
under  ground.  We  are  come  in  quest  of  sub-* 
terraneous  treasures  ;  and  these  bleak  unsightly 
moors  promise  well  for  our  gratification." 

JAMES.  —  "And  how  strong  the  wind  was, 
father!  Yet  I  saw  in  some  of  the  valleys 
beautiful  myrtles  in  full  blossom;  such  as  we 
can  hardly  rear  in  our  greenhouses." 

"We  are  now  near  St.  Austle:  our  imme- 
diate object  are  the  Tin  Mines  at  Polgooth, 
about  two  miles  distant." 

"What  a  number  of  mines  is  here!"  said 
James ;  "  if  one  may  judge  from  the  steam- 
engines." 

"Yes.  There  are  between  twenty  and  thirty 
now  in  use.  The  descent  into  them  is  called 


70  A    SHAFT.— AN    ADIT. 

n  shaft;  and  above  fifty  shafts  may  be  counted ; 
though  they  are  not  all  worked  at  the  present 
day." 

"  What  are  those  tall  buildings  for  ?  " 

"  Those  are  the  engine  houses.  Water 
is  always  very  troublesome  in  these  mines. 
Sometimes,  the  workmen  pierce  a  passage 
from  the  bottom  of  the  mine,  sloping  down- 
wards, if  in  a  mountain,  to  the  level  country, 
to  let  the  water  off;  this  is  called  an  adit,  and 
is  the  occasional  work  of  many  years.  But, 
frequently,  the  water  is  pumped  out  with 
steam-engines,  at  great  labor  and  expense." 

The  young  traveller  was  surprised  at  seeing 
so  many  heaps  around  every  mining  house ; 
consisting  of  the  ore  as  extracted,  and  thrown 
together. 

"Persons  enter  these  mines,  and  come  out 
again,  as  in  most  other  mines,  by  the  same 


A    KIBBUT.— A    LODE.  71 

conveyance  that  is  used  to  bring  up  the  ore ; 
here  it  is  called  a  kibbut." 

The  passing  down  in  one  of  these  was 
attended  with  a  little  anxiety.  James  almost 
fainted  away  with  apprehension;  but  soon 
recovered  himself,  when,  once  at  the  bottom, 
he  felt  his  feet. 

These  kibbuts  are  raised  and  lowered  by  an 
apparatus  at  the  top ;  consisting  of  either  a 
large  winch,  or  a  wheel  and  axle.  In  some 
places  there  are  ladders,  with  landing-places 
at  convenient  distances. 

They  had  come  upon  the  „  principal  vein,  or 
lode,  as  the  miners  call  it ;  and  found  it  to  be 
two  yards  thick.  "  In  many  places,  the  vein  is, 
when  first  perceived,  not  above  an  inch  thick, 
sometimes  not  above  half  an  inch ;  but  as  the 
miners  follow  it,  it  increases,  and  becomes 
more  valuable.  Towards  the  east,  it  has  two 


72  BLASTING   THE    ROCK. 

branches ;  but  it  runs  westward,  seemingly,  till 
it  comes  to  the  sea,  at  last.  The  miners  have 
made  their  excavations  to  a  full  mile  in  length, 
but  have  not  yet  come  to  the  end  of  it.  They 
sometimes  find  pure  lumps  of  metal,  of  twenty 
pounds  weight. 

"  They  have  to  blast  the  solid  rock  with  gun- 
powder, in  order  to  get  at  the  ore  conveniently. 
Frequently,  the  vein  ceases  abruptly,  as  if  it 
had  been  suddenly  snapped  off;  when  this  is 
the  case,  experienced  miners  will  soon  discover 
the  disconnected  part,  and  proceed  again  in 
their  lucrative  excavations.  The  continuation 
is  usually  found  on  one  side,  and  at  no  great 
distance  from  the  fracture." 

"And  how  deep  in  the  earth  are  we  now?" 
said  James  to  one  of  the  miners. 

"Oh,  Meastur,  summer  about  five  score 
fathom,  or  more,  just  here." 


STEAM-ENGINE.  73 

"  Why,  that  is  between  six  and  seven  hun- 
dred feet  1  Eh !  it's  almost  like  being  buried 
alive  1  And  do  you  work  here  day  and  night  1 
—  You  can't  tell  which  it  is  here  ? " 

"No,  Meastur,  wre  doesn't  only  work  four 
hours  at  once;  and  then  belike  another  set 
comes  down." 

On  examining  the  steam-engine,  they  found 
that  every  stroke  drew  up  water  thirty  feet 
deep  in  the  piston,  which  was  fifteen  inches  in 
diameter ;  so  that  the  discharge  was  wonderful. 
The  expense  of  such  establishments  must  be 
very  great ;  but  so  are  the  profits.  This  mine 
has,  in  some  years,  cleared  twenty  thousand 
pounds. 

EXPLANATION   OP   THE   STEAM-ENGINE. 

A.  The  furnace. 

B.  The  water,  which  is  kept  boiling,  to  afford  the 
steam. 


STEAM-ENGINE 


ORE  AT   DOLGOOTH.  75 

C.  The  pipe  conveying  the  steam. 

D.  The  cylinder,  in  which  the  piston  works. 

E.  The  piston,  moving  up  and  down  in  the  cylinder. 

F.  That  part  of  the  pipe  which  lets  the  steam  into 
the  cylinder,  above  the  piston,  when  it  is  to  be  depressed. 

G.  That  part  of  the  pipe  which  lets  the  steam  into  the 
cylinder,  beneath  the  piston,  when  it  is  to  be  raised. 

^  H.  The  huge  beam,  or  lever,  to  which  the  piston  com- 
municates its  motion. 

I.  The  fly  and  wheels,  by  which  the  up  and  down 
motion  of  the  lever  is  made  to  become  rotary. 

Only  such  parts  of  the  steam-engine  are  here  repre- 
sented, as  may  serve  to  shew  the  principle.  The  expan- 
sion of  the  steam  forces  the  piston  up  or  down,  as  it 
enters  at  the  bottom  or  the  top. 

"  At  Dolgooth,  the  ore  is  found  in  a  rich  vein ; 
but  it  is  not  always  so.  There  are  some,  called 
stream  works,  especially  on  St.  Austle's  Moor. 
It  should  seem  that  all  the  streams,  which  run 
from  the  adjacent  hills  and  settle  in  this  valley, 
bring  with  them  lumps  of  tin  ore,  larger  or 


76  STREAM  WORKS   AT   PAR. 

smaller,  and  have  done  so  for  ages.  The  soil, 
also,  brought  down  by  the  waters,  has  settled 
in  the  valley,  till  it  has  accumulated  to  the 
depth  of  from  twelve  to  twenty  feet.  On  dig- 
ging into  this  artificial  soil,  several  layers  of 
earth,  clay,  and  gravel,  are  found ;  then  a  stra- 
tum of  stones,  which,  being  heaviest,  have  sunk 
lowest,  while  the  whole  was  moist  and  soft. 
Beneath  these  successive  layers  are  other 
stones,  which  are  the  ores  of  tin;  these  are 
easily  known  by  their  being  very  heavy ;  some 
are  lumps,  as  big  as  one's  fist ;  some  are  almost 
as  small  as  fine  sand.  Below  these,  are  solid 
rocks ;  in  which  is  no  tin.  The  tin  obtained 
from  these  stones  is  reckoned  very  pure,  and 
is  in  considerable  plenty,  having  but  a  small 
proDortion  of  refuse. 

"  These  stream  works  extend  to  Par.     There 
the  incumbent  earth  and  sand  form  a  stratum 


STREAM-WORKS    NEAR    TRURO.  77 

seventy  feet  deep.  The  miners  bring  streams 
of  water  to  act  upon  it,  with  considerable  vio- 
lence, in  order  to  wash  the  sand  away ;  yet  the 
pebbles  are  left  at  the  bottom  of  the  several 
channels. 

"There  are  several  mines  of  less  conse- 
quence, though  well  worth  the  working,  as  at 
Gwennap,  Illogan,  Trevennen,  &c. ;  but  seeing 
one  is  essentially  seeing  all.  These  smaller 
works  employ  from  a  hundred  to  a  hundred 
and  fifty  miners  at  each  of  them.  One  might 
reckon  up  nearly  two  hundred  of  those  smaller 
concerns. 

"The  stream-works  near  Truro  are  said  to 
yield  eight  thousand  pounds  a  year  profit. 

"These  tin  works  are  of  different  sorts, 
according  as  the  tin  is  found ;  sometimes  it  is 
obtained  in  the  form  of  stones,  very  heavy,  and 
full  of  metal ;  but  more  often  the  tin  is  mingled 


78  MARKING    AND    ASSAYING. 

with  earthy  matter,  almost  as  hard  as  stone, 
and  of  a  bluish  or  grayish  appearance. 

"  When  the  ore  is  brought  up  to  the  surface 
of  the  earth,  it  is  thrown  into  heaps  Here 
multitudes  of  the  poor  find  employment  in 
breaking  it  \vith  hammers.  In  this  broken 
state  it  is  carried  to  the  stamping-mill,  where 
it  is  pounded.  In  order  to  this,  it  is  turned 
into  a  sloping  trough,  and  a  small  stream  of 
water  assists  it  in  sliding  down  into  the  case 
wherein  the  lifters  work.  These  are  pieces 
of  timber,  shod  with  large  masses  of  iron: 
they  are  raised  and  let  fall  again,  by  a  water- 
wheel.  The  ore  is  repeatedly  washed  before 
it  is  brought  for  melting.  When  melted,  it 
runs  into  large  oblong  moulds,  each  of  which 
contains  about  three  hundred  weight  of  pure 
tin.  It  must  now  be  conveyed  to  some  one 
of  the  Stannary  towns,  to  be  marked  and 


BREAKING   TIN    ORE. 


80  STANNARY   LAWS. 

assayed,  or,  as  they  call  it  there,  coined.  This 
is  done  by  officers  appointed  by  the  Duke  of 
Cornwall.  They  cut  off  a  corner,  and  then 
stamp  it  with  the  proper  seal,  and  the  name 
of  the  melter.  This  gives  assurance  to  the 
purchaser  that  it  is  pure  tin,  and  tells  all  whom 
it  may  concern,  that  the  duty  has  been  paid. 
The  duty  paid  to  the  Duke  is  four  shillings  for 
every  hundred  weight.  The  Prince  of  Wales 
is  Duke  of  Cornwall ;  and  his  revenue,  from 
this  source,  has  been  calculated  at  thirty  thou- 
sand pounds  a  year. 

"  There  are  laws,  called  Stannary  laws,  by 
which  all  these  mines  are  regulated.  Every 
case  relating  to  them  must  be  tried  before 
their  own  courts,  and  cannot  ie  removed 
elsewhere. 

"If  a  person  suspects  tin  may  be  found  in 
any  certain  spot  of  his  own  estate,  he  must 


CAPTAIN   OF   THE   MINE.  81 

obtain  leave  of  the  lord,  before  he  can  work  it. 
If  the  spot  be  on  some  unoccupied  moor,  he 
may  bound  it ;  that  is,  make  a  pit  at  each  of 
the  four  corners  of  the  plot.  No  one  can  then 
operate  on  that  piece  of  ground  without  leave 
from  him,  as  well  as  from  the  lord  of  the  soil. 

"The  share  which  the  lord  of  the  soil 
claims,  called  technically  his  dish,  is  about 
one  sixth  or  one  eighth  part,  free  of  all 
charges. 

"  The  miners  are  not  paid  by  the  day,  but 
by  a  share  of  the  produce.  This  makes  them 
careful  to  obtain  all  they  can  from  the  lode, 
and  in  as  little  time  as  possible. 

"  The  whole  conduct  of  the  mine,  and  of  the 
miner,  is  under  one  person  called  the  Captain 
of  the  Mine.  Besides  knowing  the  proper 
methods  of  getting  the  ore  out  of  the  rock, 
he  must  have  some  knowledge  of  Mechanics, 
6 


82  ANTIQUITY    OP    THE 

Algebra,  and  Geometry.  He  would  be  es- 
teemed unfit  for  his  office,  if  he  could  not,  at 
any  time,  point  out,  upon  the  surface  of  the 
earth,  the  spot  exactly  over  where  the  miners 
are  operating ;  so  that  if  it  should  be  necessary 
to  sink  another  shaft,  he  may  conduct  it  per- 
pendicularly down  to  the  very  spot  where  it 
is  wished  for;  though  at  a  great  depth  in  the 
earth,  and  notwithstanding  all  the  windings 
of  the  mine  below." 

James  was  much  surprised  to  find  so  much 
knowledge,  as,  on  several  occasions,  he  met 
with  in  persons  whom,  from  their  dress  and 
laborious  occupation,  he  had  supposed  to  be 
very  ignorant.  He  several  times  wished  he 
had  his  own  geometrical  problems  more  ready 
for  use. 

"  Now,  father,  when  we  have  seen  any  En- 
glish mine,  you  tell  me  about  similar  mines  in 


BRITISH    TIN   MINES.  83 

other  countries.  Where  are  the  other  tin 
mines  1" 

"  We  shall  not  have  much  to  say  about  tin 
mines  in  other  countries,  James ;  for  there  are 
only  three  places  in  Europe,  where  tin  has 
been  found  :  in  Germany,  in  the  mountains  of 
Saxony ;  in  Spain,  near  Portugal ;  and,  the 
best  of  them  all,  those  which  we  have  now 
seen  in  Cornwall.  In  some  parts  of  Asia,  and 
in  South  America,  it  has  been  discovered ;  but 
not  much  of  it  has  become  an  object  of  com- 
merce, like  ours." 

"Some  of  the  men  said  these  mines  had 
been  worked  above  two  thousand  years;  is 
that  true,  father?" 

"  It  is  very  likely  to  be  true,  James :  for  the 
Phoenicians  are  said  to  have  traded  hither  for 
tin,  more  than  five  hundred  years  before  the 
Christian  aera.  That  is,  in  the  reign  of  Zede- 


34  BRITISH    TIN   MINES. 

kiah,  before  the  Jews  were  taken  captive  to 
Babylon.  If  so,  that  is  more  than  two  thou- 
sand three  hundred  years  ago;  and  the  man 
may  be  right. 

"  Some  tin  has  been  found  in  the  island  of 
JBanca,  near  Sumatra,  of  which  the  Dutch  have 
made  their  advantage.  Some  is  found  in  the 
province  of  Nanking,  in  China;  but  it  cannot 
be  in  any  great  quantity,  because,  every  year, 
the  English  export  tin  to  China,  to  a  con- 
siderable amount,  from  these  mines  in  Corn- 
wall." 


COPPER. 

CORNWALL. 

"What  are  those  odd  looking  horses,  father: 
What  are  they  loaded  with  ?  And  whither  are 
they  going?" 

"  They  are  mules,"  said  Mr.  Thompson.  "A 
mule  is  an  animal  between  a  horse  and  an  ass. 
They  are  preferred,  as  being  extremely  sure- 
footed. Each  of  them  has,  you  see,  a  sort  of 
wooden  saddle,  on  which  is  laid  a  couple  of 
dirty,  dark  looking  sacks.  These  are  filled 
with  copper  ore,  which  is  to  be  conveyed  to 
the  sea- side,  in  order  to  be  sent  to  Swansea, 
in  Wales,  where  it  will  be  smelted,  and  cast 
into  moulds,  ready  for  market. 


TRAIN  OP  MULE6 


OEK 


DOLGOOTH  COPPER  MINE.         87 

"Having  seen  the  tin  mines  of  Cornwall," 
continued  the  father,  "  we  may  as  well  look  at 
the  copper  mines,  now  ;  for  Cornwall  is  famous 
for  that  valuable  product,  as  well  as  for  tin. 

"  Possibly  the  most  important  of  these  sub- 
terraneous treasures  is  at  Dolgooth.  Here 
again  we  meet  with  excavations  a  mile  in 
length. 

"Beneath,  the  earth  is  scooped  and  hol- 
lowed in  every  direction,  almost  like  a  honey- 
comb, only  with  less  regularity." 

They  had  to  descend  above  twelve  hundred 
feet  to  the  bottom:  and  then  might  choose 
almost  any  direction,  which  way  soever  they 
might  prefer  to  go. 

"Many  steam-engines  are  employed  here: 
some  in  bringing  up  the  ore  and  the  rub- 
bish; and  several  in  pumping  out  the  water, 
to  drain  the  mines.  Some  of  these  are  so 


88  IMPORTANCE    OF 

large,  as  to  be  denominated  of  a  thousand 
horse  power. 

"  Such  expenses  as  are  incurred  by  candles, 
tools,  and  gunpowder,  belong  to  the  miners, 
who  provide  for  themselves.  They  are  repaid 
by  a  certain  proportion  of  the  copper  raised 
from  the  mine,  when  it  is  actually  sold;  so 
that  they  are  personally  benefited  by  working 
the  mine  well. 

"  We  may  judge  of  the  importance  of  these 
mines  of  copper,  when  we  understand  that  the 
persons  in  actual  employ  about  them,  of  all 
descriptions,  aged  and  children,  women  and 
men,  are  above  sixteen  hundred.  The  expens- 
es are  not  less  than  fifteen  or  twenty  thousand 
pounds  a  year.  But  then  the  produce  is  pro- 
portionably  large,  amounting,  frequently,  to  be- 
tween seventy  and  eighty  thousand  a  year, 
in  money. 


THE    COPPER   MINES.  b9 

"  Perhaps  we  should  not  reckon  much  amiss, 
were  we  to  suppose  one  hundred  thousand 
persons  employed  in  this  one  country,  in 
bringing  these  treasures  from  the  bowels  of  the 
earth." 

"Do  they  ever  find  silver  or  gold  in  these 
mines  1"  inquired  James. 

"  Yes,  sometimes ;  but  not  in  any  great 
quantities.  Grains  of  gold  have  been  found, 
like  fine  sand ;  and  small  quantities  of  silver. 
Although  as  much  as  was  worth  two  thousand 
pounds  has  been  obtained  near  Gwinear,  yet 
the  expenses  of  procuring  it  were  so  great, 
that  there  was  not  profit  to  the  proprie- 
tors, sufficient  to  make  it  worth  while  to 
work  them.  They  have  therefore  been  dis- 
continued. 

"  Much  lapis  calaminaris  is  found,  too,  inter- 
mingled ;  this  yields  zinc.  A  mixture  of  copper 

H 


90  COMPOSITION    OP   BRASS. 

and  zinc  makes  brass ;  as  a  mixture  of  copper 
and  tin  forms  bell-metal. 

"  We  must  not  forget  an  ore  called  Mundic, 
or,  sometimes,  Marcasite.  This  was  long  neg- 
lected, as  useless.  Early  in  the  last  century, 
Sir  Gilbert  Clark  found  out  a  method  of  pro- 
ducing from  it  very  fine  copper,  to  the  value 
of  nearly  two  hundred  thousand  pounds  per 
annum ;  so  well  employed  is  scientific  know- 
ledge, and  so  prodigal  are  the  ignorant!  If 
education  cost  much,  yet  it  is  a  means  to  save 
a  great  deal,  by  teaching  us  the  value  of  many 
things,  which,  through  ignorance  of  their  worth, 
we  might  pass  by,  or  throw  away ;  and  giving 
such  general  knowledge  as  enables  a  man  to 
take  advantage  of  all  that  Providence  brings 
under  his  notice. 

"Most  of  the  Cornish  mines  are  called 
Wheels  ;  this,  however,  is  riot  the  true  spelling, 


ADVANTAGES    OF    EDUCATION.  91 

but  Huel,  an  old  Cornish  word,  signifying  hole. 
Their  names  are  often  whimsical;  as  that  called 
Dolgooth,  was  so  named  because  the  hole  was 
opened  near  the  dwelling  of  an  old  woman 
named  Dorothy  Koath,  or  Dol  Koath;  Huel 
Providence,  so  named,  perhaps  piously,  be- 
cause it  was  accidentally  discovered ;  and  Huel 
Boys,  because  the  lode  was  first  noticed  by 
children. 

"It  was  long  supposed  that  tin  was  not 
worth  working,  when  more  than  three  hundred 
feet  below  the  surface  of  the  earth:  but  the 
best  mines  now  worked  go  much  deeper ; 
some  even  to  nine  hundred  feet. 

"The  tin  mines  were  wrought  long  before 
those  of  copper  were  discovered.  There  was, 
indeed,  a  stony  substance,  which  the  miner 
found  troublesome,  and,  thinking  it  useless,  he 
threw  it  away ;  this  was  called  poder ;  and  he 


92  VALUE    OF   PODER. 

even  abandoned  the  mine,  when  this  was  too 
plentiful.  This  arose  from  ignorance.  About 
the  year  1735,  a  Mr.  Coster,  of  Bristol,  who 
had  better  skill  in  mineralogy,  observing  the 
heaps  of  this  substance,  which  were  thrown 
away,  engaged  to  take  it  out  of  their  way,  and 
contracted  for  it  at  a  low  price.  He  soon 
found  how  to  extract  copper  from  it ;  and 
made  so  much  use  of  his  better  knowledge,  as 
to  gain  a  fortune  from  what  may  be  called  the 
refuse  of  their  ignorance.  Be  careful  how  you 
throw  any  thing  away ;  or,  rather,  endeavor  to 
gain  knowledge,  in  every  varied  shape,  that 
you  may  not  be  liable  to  throw  away  any  thing 
which  may  be  really  valuable." 


COPPER. 

ANGLESEA.* 

ALTHOUGH  it  was  some  time  after  their 
leaving  Cornwall,  that  they  visited  the  famous 
copper  mines  in  the  Parys  Mountain,  in  Angle- 
sea;  yet  it  may  be  convenient  to  our  readers,  if 
we  put  all  of  a  sort  together.  We  shall,  there- 
fore, proceed  to  relate  what  was  found  there 
worthy  of  notice,  and  exhibit  the  nature  and 
importance  of  the  mine. 

*  Anglesea  is  an  island  twenty-four  miles  long  by  seventeen 
broad,  situated  in  the  Irish  Sea,  on  the  north-western  coast  of 
"Wales.  The  Parys  Mountain  is  nine  miles  in  length,  and  half 
as  much  in  breadth,  apparently  wild,  waste,  and  barren  in  the 
extreme,  but  containing  a  bed  of  copper  ore  which  is  supposed 
to  be  the  largest  in  the  world. 


94  PARYS   COPPER   MINE. 

In  most  mines,  we  have  to  descend  deep 
into  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  and  traverse  its 
gloomy  caverns  by  the  flickering  light  of  a 
candle,  or  a  link,  which  threatens  every  mo- 
ment to  leave  us  in  darkness.  The  miners 
work  by  a  mere  glimmer,  and  pass  to  and  fro 
almost  in  the  dark.  But  the  Parys  Mountain 
mine  is  quife  different;  it  is  open  to  daylight, 
and  permits  the  sun  and  the  fresh  breezes  to 
purify  the  atmosphere,  and  carry  off  the  noxious 
vapors.  Not  but  the  air  is  still  very  offensive, 
in  the  direction  of  the  wind  especially,  from 
the  suffocating  fumes  of  copper,  which  arise  on 
all  sides.  The  whole  country  around,  for 
miles,  is  desolate  from  the  effects  of  these 
exhalations. 

The  first  sight  of  the  hill  is  dreary  enough ; 
being  an  assemblage  of  enormous  rocks,  hide- 


DISCOVERY    OP   THE   MINE.  95 

ously  piled  on  each  other,  of  the  species  called 
quartz.  On  ascending  towards  the  top,  the 
prospect  opens  of  a  huge  bason,  nearly  half  a 
mile  across,  or  a  good  mile  in  circumference. 

Persons  had  been  searching  here  for  mineral 
treasures  for  a  long  while,  and  at  considerable 
expense  :  they  were  on  the  point  of  giving  up 
the  search  as  fruitless;  when,  unexpectedly, 
in  the  year  1768,  they  met  with  a  large  mass 
of  copper  ore.  This  gave  them  new  spirit 
for  fresh  exertions.  The  mines  have  been 
wrought  ever  since,  to  great  profit ;  sometimes 
fifteen  hundred  men  have  been  employed  in 
them,  who,  with  their  families,  may  be  reck- 
oned as  seven  or  eight  thousand  souls,  whose 
living  entirely  depends  on  this  produce. 

This  hollow  is,  on  one  side,  filled  with 
water ;  over  which,  it  is  said,  a  bird  is  never 


96  DRAWING   UP    THE   ORE. 

seen  to  fly.  It  is  likely,  that  the  fumes  are  so 
offensive,  that  they  are  disgusted,  and  so  kept 
from  danger. 

"What  a  prospect!"  said  James;  "what  a 
dreary  prospect !  And  see,  father,  what  those 
men  are  standing  on!  It  is  enough  to  make 
one  giddy  to  look  at  them." 

"  O !  I  see ;  they  are  standing  on  scaffold- 
ings, projecting  a  great  way  from  the  tops  of 
the  rock ;  and  there  is  a  windlass  at  the  end 
of  each,  by  which  I  suppose  they  draw  up — 
yes,  there  is  one  going — they  draw  up  their 
baskets,  full  of  ore,  from  the  bottom  of  the 
pits. 

"The  rock  is,  first  of  all,  split,  by  being 
blasted  with  gunpowder,  as  in  most  mines.  It 
is  said,  that  eight  tons  of  gunpowder  are  thus 
used  in  these  mines,  every  year.  The  ore,  so 
obtained  in  large  masses  from  the  rock,  is 


PARYS  MINES.— ANGLESEA  COPPER. 


98  OPERATIONS   ON   THE   ORE. 

broken  with  great  hammers  into  smaller  pieces, 
before  it  is  drawn  up  to  the  surface  of  the 
earth." 

The  fumes  most  discernible  were  the  sul- 
phureous; for  the  ore  is  much  loaded  with 
sulphur,  and  it  is  driven  out  by  fire.  Heaps 
of  copper  ore  were  seen  around,  smoking  and 
fuming  to  the  great  annoyance  of  all  who 
travel  that  way. 

The  ore,  when  thus  far  purified,  is  sent  to 
places  where  coals  are  plentiful,  in  order  to  be 
smelted,  and  run  into  moulds,  fit  for  commerce. 
In  this  state  they  are  called  cakes,  and  in  some 
places  salmon. 

"  This  is  an  amazing  mass  of  metallic  ore ; 
perhaps  there  is  not  such  another  in  the  world. 
It  has  been  now  worked  upwards  of  sixty 
years ;  and  seems  likely  to  last  a  long  time, 
with  an  equally  plentiful  supply. 


AN   APPARENT   TRANSMUTATION.  99 

"  In  many  places  there  are  waters,  in  smaller 
or  larger  pools,  fully  impregnated  with  particles 
of  pure  copper ;  indeed,  the  purest  copper  is 
obtained  from  these  waters." 

James  was  eager  to  know  how  this  was 
done ;  and  was  told  that  the  water  contained 
a  considerable  portion  of  sulphuric  acid,  or 
what  he  would  call  oil  of  vitriol,  united  with 
copper;  in  other  words,  the  water  contained 
a  quantity  of  blue  copperas,  called  by  chemists 
sulphate  of  copper.  And  farther,  that  a  laborer, 
once  leaving  his  iron  spade,  accidentally,  in 
some  water  of  this  kind,  found  it,  after  a  few 
weeks,  so  covered  with  a  coat  of  copper,  that 
he  firmly  believed  the  iron  had  been  trans- 
muted into  copper. 

"Now  the  process  of  obtaining  the  copper 
from  such  water,  is  simply  thus :  the  water  is 
pumped  up  into  pits,  made  on  purpose  for 


100  VIRGIN   COPPER. 

the  operation.  Then  plates  or  pieces  of  iron 
are  thrown  into  them,  and  left  for  a  time.  The 
acid,  before  alluded  to,  which  had  dissolved 
the  copper,  and  held  it  in  solution,  having  a 
stronger  desire  for  iron,  (a  stronger  affinity, 
chemists  call  it,)  seizes  on  that  metal,  and 
lets  go  the  infinitely  small  particles  of  copper, 
which  it  contained,  and  they  fasten  themselves 
on  the  iron ;  so  that  the  common  people  say, 
and  believe,  the  iron  has  been  changed  into 
copper.  By  those  who  know  better,  these 
pieces  of  iron  are  occasionally  taken  out  of  the 
water,  and  carefully  scraped,  to  get  the  copper 
off  them ;  after  which,  they  are  again  thrown 
into  the  pits,  till  at  length  they  dissolve,  and 
are  held  suspended  in  the  water,  while  the 
copper  is  precipitated  or  thrown  to  the  bottom. 
The  mud  is  then  raked  out  and  put  into  a 
furnace,  to  melt  the  copper  and  free  it  from  the 


ANNIVERSARY    aE£EB3?A.TIQBT.- .      ,    101 

sediment.  Copper  so  procured  is  very  fine, 
and  much  purer  than  that  which  is  obtained  by 
smelting.  It  is  equal  to  what  is  called  virgin 
copper;  a  name  given  to  lumps,  or  branches, 
of  pure,  solid  metal,  which  are  now  and  then 
found.  Both  sell  at  a  higher  price  than 
smelted  copper. 

"  Although  it  is  only  about  sixty  years  ago, 
that  we  say  this  mass  of  copper  ore  was  disco- 
vered, we  ought  rather  to  call  it  a  re-discovery, 
as  evident  traces  are  met  with  continually,  of 
this  mine  having  been  worked  many  ages 
before ;  when  all  the  knowledge  in  these  mat- 
ters amounted  to  heating  the  rocks  violently 
by  fire,  and  then  suddenly  deluging  them  with 
water;  which  occasioned  them  to  crack,  and 
scale  off,  so  as  to  enable  the  workmen  to  break 
them  in  pieces,  fit  for  smelting." 

Had  our  travellers  happened  to  come  hither 


102  M7i\E    AT    ECTON    HILL. 

in  March,  they  would  have  found  all  parties  in 
high  holy  day  mood ;  for  in  that  month  the  mine 
was  discovered;  and  the  anniversary  is  kept 
with  great  glee  and  joviality,  down  to  the 
present  time. 

Their  attention  was  excited  by  noticing  a 
stratum  of  yellowish  clay,  which  felt  considera- 
bly greasy  to  the  touch.  This  appeared  to  be 
very  near  the  top,  not  a  yard  below  the  sur- 
face. The  stratum  itself  was  indeed,  in  some 
places,  ten  or  twelve  feet  thick ;  in  others  not 
more  than  three  feet.  This,  it  seems,  is  well 
stored  with  the  ore  of  lead ;  and  this  lead 
has  in.it  a  tolerable  proportion  of  silver;  as 
much  as  four  pounds  of  silver  in  a  ton  of 
lead. 

When  they  were  at  Ecton  Hill,  or  Acton 
Hill,  in  Derbyshire,  they  found  another  copper 
mine,  but  of  a  peculiar  kind,  nothing  like 


WICKLOW    AND    NORWAY    MINES.         103 

it  having  been  yet  discovered  in  the  whole 
world.  Other  mines  run  to  a  great  length, 
or  branch  out  in  various  directions ;  but  this 
sinks  down  perpendicularly,  widening  as  it 
descends,  continually,  in  the  form  of  a  cone. 
It  is  situated  near  the  river  Dove,  and  was 
discovered  about  the  year  1740.  Those  who 
first  sought  here  for  ore,  spent  thirteen  thou- 
sand pounds,  without  gaining  any  benefit. 
They  dug  six  hundred  feet  in  depth,  before 
they  came  to  the  ore.  Then  they  found  a 
rich  supply ;  and  a  supply  which  increases 
as  they  descend.  The  works  are  four  hun- 
dred and  fifty  feet  below  the  bed  of  the  river. 
It  is  the  deepest  mine  in  the  British  islands. 
On  the  opposite  side  of  the  hill  is  an  excellent 
lead  mine. 

"Before  we   go  absolutely  abroad,  we  will 
just  step  over  to  our  sister  isle.     At  Wicklow, 


104        RORAAS  COPPER  MINE. 

in  Ireland,  are  copper  mines ;  those  especially 
at  Cronebane,  are  considerable  in  their  pro- 
duce. 

"  Copper  is  obtained  in  this  kingdom  too, 
by  immersing  iron  in  the  water  of  the  mines, 
by  which  process  the  finest  sort  is  procured. 

"In  the  Wicklow  lead  mines,  much  silver 
is  found,  to  the  amount  of  one  part  in  thirty. 
Lead  ore  is  very  frequently  connected  with 
silver. 

"Norway  has  mines  of  copper.  That  at 
Roraas,  in  the  province  of  Drontheim,  was 
discovered  by  a  Laplander,  travelling  with 
his  reindeer,  in  1644.  In  some  years  above 
six  hundred  tons  of  copper  have  been  drawn 
from  it;  but  some  of  the  veins  have,  of 
late  years,  become  deteriorated  in  quality, 
and  diminished  in  quantity.  Three  hundred 
thousand  tons  of  charcoal  are  consumed  an- 


RORAAS  COPPER  MINE.         105 

nually,  in  smelting  the  ore.  The  gang,  or 
workable  part  of  the  mountain,  is  four  or 
five  feet  thick;  consisting  of  a  gravelly  soil, 
loaded  with  the  copper  ore/5 


COPPER. 

SWEDEN. 

"  WE  may  take  Mr.  Coxe  as  our  guide,  in 
exploring  the  copper  mines  of  Fahlun,*  in 
Sweden.  He  traversed  those  northern  regions 
in  the  years  1784  and  1785.  We  find,  by 
his  account,  that  the  general  appearance  of 
the  country  is  desolate.  We  cannot  have  a 
fine  vegetable  crop  above,  and  a  rich  treasure 
of  minerals  below,  at  the  same  place.  Indeed, 
the  number  of  smoking  furnaces,  which  poison 
the  atmosphere,  are  enough  to  impede  vegeta- 

*  Fahlun  is  the  capital  of  the  province  of  Dalecarlia,  and  lies 
one  hundred  miles  N.  N.  W.  from  Stockholm. 


FAHLUN    COPPER   MINES.  107 

tion,  and  destroy  the  least  appearance  of  even 
a  kindly  soil. 

"  The  copper  mines  at  Fahlun  are  not  only 
the  best  in  Sweden,  but  they  are  among  the 
best  in  the  world.  Swedish  copper  ranks  high 
in  the  market :  all  our  manufacturers  are  aware 
of  its  excellence. 

"Fahlun  is  situated  in  a  hilly  country, 
among  dreary  rocks,  and  also  between  two 
lakes  of  considerable  size. 

"Very  ancient  records  speak  of  this  mine 
as  having  been  famous  in  remote  ages ;  so  that 
it  is  impossible  now  to  relate  the  story  of  its 
discovery. 

"The  mouth,  or  entrance,  of  the  mine  is 
very  large,  perhaps  a  thousand  or  twrelve 
hundred  feet  in  width :  it  is  a  vast  chasm 
among  the  rocks,  which  is  continually  enlarging 
as  the  parts  around  keep  falling.  The  descent 


108     APPEARANCE  OF  THE  MINERS. 

is  rather  hazardous,  down  several  flights  of 
wooden  stairs  to  the  first  gallery  ;  then  it 
becomes  so  easy,  that,  though  it  consists  of 
steps  cut  in  the  rock,  the  horses,  who  are  used 
to  it,  can  pass  up  and  down  them,  as  they  go 
and  come  in  bringing  up  the  ore. 

"  The  miners  have  no  clothing  on  their 
bodies,  or  arms;  their  naked  appearance  gives 
a  sort  of  awfulness  to  the  scene,  which  is 
heightened  by  the  lights,  which  every  one 
carries  about  in  his  hand,  consisting  of  small 
slips  of  wood,  made  into  a  bundle,  and  lighted. 

"The  subterraneous  galleries  penetrate  far 
into  the  bowels  of  the  earth;  they  are  from 
six  to  ten  feet  high,  and  of  varying  widths. 
Measuring  the  chasm  from  top  to  bottom,  we 
find  it  above  a  thousand  feet;  and  from  the 
entrance  of  the  gallery  to  its  lowest  part, 
it  is  seven  hundred  feet  more.  It  is  true. 


PERILOUS   DESCENT   TO   THE   MINES.     109 

there  is  a  tolerably  commodious  staircase  for 
a  long  way;  then  we  come  to  a  deep  pit, 
into  which  the  descent  is  by  a  wooden  lad- 
der ;  after  this  there  is  an  iron  ladder,  hanging 
loose  against  the  sides  of  the  pit ;  then  a 
wooden  ladder  again,  reaching  as  far  as  one 
can  go ;  as  the  bottom  of  the  pit  is  full  of 
water.  It  takes  up  four  hours  to  pay  this 
visit  to  the  bottom  of  the  mine :  and  the 
coming  up  again,  such  a  length  of  way,  and 
by  such  means,  is  peculiarly  dangerous  and 
fatiguing. 

"  The  modes  of  operating  in  this  mine  are 
very  similar  to  those  in  other  mines.  The 
rock  is  blasted  with  gunpowder ;  and  the 
dissevered  masses  are  broken  smaller  with 
hammers.  The  ore  is  roasted,  in  order  to 
'drive  off  the  sulphur,  and  the  rest  is  smelted 
for  sale.  But  this  roasting  and  smelting  are 


110     SUPERIORITY    OF    SWEDISH   COPPER. 

repeated  several  times,  in  order  to  bring  the 
copper  to  that  high  state  of  purity  for  which 
Swedish  copper  is  in  such  great  repute. 

"Much  copper  is  also  obtained  here,  by 
the  now  common  process  of  steeping  iron 
in  the  waters  of  the  mine. 

"Twelve  hundred  workmen  are  usually 
employed  here ;  one  half  of  them  as  miners 
in  the  bowels  of  the  earth;  the  other  half 
in  roasting,  smelting,  and  other  necessary 
operations  belonging  to  the  concern. 

"Copper  melts  very  readily.  It  is  drawn 
out  into  fine  wire.  Screws,  and  nails,  and 
utensils  for  domestic  purposes,  are  made  of 
it.  The  bottoms  and  sides  of  ships  are  co- 
vered with  it,  to  prevent  their  decaying,  or 
being  injured  by  insects.  Mixed  in  proper 
quantities  with  zinc,  it  produces  brass  of  a 
beautiful  color." 


IRON 

FOREST    OF    DEAN.* 

have  come  some  way  through  this 
Forest  of  Dean,"  said  James;  "I  think  the 
man  was  right,  who  said  it  was  twenty  miles 
long;  though  the  ostler  said  that  was  its 
length  formerly;  and  there  is  not  so  much 
forest  now  as  there  used  to  be." 

"  In    Queen    Elizabeth's    time,    when   the 
Spanish  Armada  was  sent  over,  the  invaders 

*  This  forest  lies  in  the  county  of  Gloucester,  between  the  river 
Severn  and  the  county  of  Monmouth.  It  once  contained  thirty 
thousand  acres  of  land,  with  an  abundance  of  fine  timber.  The 
wood  has  been  much  diminished  by  the  forges,  which  are  em- 
ployed in  smelting  the  iron. 


112  IMPORTANCE   OF   IRON. 

were  expressly  commanded  to  destroy  the 
Forest  of  Dean,  because  the  best  oak  for 
our  shipping  grew  there.  However,  Sir  Fran- 
cis Drake,  and  our  brave  admirals  and  sailors, 
would  not  let  them  execute  their  orders;  for 
they  defeated  and  dispersed  their  boasted 
invincible  fleet." 

As  it  grew  dusk,  their  attention  was  at- 
tracted by  symptoms  of  their  approach  to  the 
mining  district ;  the  forges  were  blazing  and 
smoking  on  every  side. 

"  Mines  of  iron  are  here,  providentially, 
accompanied  by  mines  of  coal ;  these  make 
the  former  of  double  value,  because  the  iron 
ore  can  be  smelted  on  the  spot:  indeed, 
they  are  generally  placed  in  the  same  neigh- 
borhood. 

"  Iron  is  never  found  pure,  as  are  sometimes 
copper,  silver,  and  even  gold.  It  is,  however, 


SMELTING   THE    ORE.  113 

plentifully  dispersed  about  our  globe,  and  is 
one  of  its  greatest  natural  gifts.  Where  there 
is  no  iron,  there  cannot  be  efficient  tools ;  no 
arts  can  be  carried  on  to  any  great  extent, 
neither  can  the  sciences  exist,  nor  the  cultiva- 
tion of  the  mind  take  place.  The  use  of  iron 
is  the  first  step  towards  civilization,  in  all 
countries.  Where  this  is  unknown,  the  peo- 
ple are  savages,  and  so  they  must  remain. 

"  The  rusty  brown  stones,  which  constitute 
the  ore  of  iron,  do  not  seem  to  promise  much 
of  value,  either  as  to  beauty  or  usefulness. 
But  man  has  found  out  the  means  of  making 
them  of  great  importance,  by  drawing  from 
them  that  most  useful  substance,  iron;  and 
again  refining  that  into  the  most  elegant 
articles  of  steel. 

"The  brown  stones  must  first  be  roasted; 
this  calcination  brings  them  into  a  state  which 
8  K 


114  THE    SMELTING   FURNACE. 

renders  their  fusion  a  much  easier  and  more 
certain  operation,  by  expelling  the  sulphur  or 
arsenic  which  abounds  in  the  mineral  state. 

"  It  requires  some  instruction  in  the  nature 
of  the  smelting  furnace,  to  understand  the 
process.  The  building,  externally,  represents 
a  huge  cone  of  masonry ;  for  the  weight  to  be 
sustained,  and  the  force  of  the  fire  to  be 
resisted,  are  both  very  great.  Interiorly,  this 
cone  forms  a  round  cavity,  narrowest  at  top; 
the  bottom  of  which  holds  the  ore  to  be 
smelted.  Some  notion  may  be  formed  of  the 
greatness  of  the  operation,  when  we  find  this 
hollow  to  be  thirty  feet  in  height,  and  twelve  in 
diameter  at  the  widest  part,  or  towards  the 
bottom ;  the  inside  being  somewhat  of  the 
shape  of  an  egg,  with  the  largest  end  down- 
wards. The  very  top,  or  mouth,  is  shaped 
like  a  funnel,  so  that  whatever  is  thrown  in 


THE   BLAST   FURNACE.  115 

readily  descends  into  the  body  of  the  furnace. 
It  is  at  this  mouth  that  the  laborers  feed  the 
furnace ;  by  throwing  in,  alternately,  baskets 
of  fuel,  and  baskets  of  ore.  The  whole  height 
of  the  furnace,  with  its  fireplace,  is  above  fifty 
feet. 

"In  former  times,  the  only  fuel  used  was 
charcoal;  of  which  the  consumption  was  so 
great,  that  our  forests,  which  were  decreasing 
very  fast,  could  not  supply  the  demand:  in- 
deed, the  scarcity,  and  the  increased  price, 
threatened  to  destroy  the  whole  iron  trade. 
After  many  unsuccessful  attempts,  the  ma- 
nagers contrived  to  conduct  the  operation  with 
pitcoal.  The  difficulty  was,  to  obtain  a  heat 
sufficient  for  fusing  the  metal.  Iron  may  be 
easily  made  red-hot,  but  the  heat  must  be 
raised  far  beyond  that,  to  melt  it,  so  that  it 
may  run  into  a  mould.  This  effect  is  now 


116  THE   BLAST   FURNACE. 

produced  by  what  is  called  a  blast  furnace, 
a  wonderful  contrivance,  which  has  given  a 
power  of  operation,  and,  of  course,  a  value, 
to  our  mines,  of  incalculable  extent. 

"  We  all  know  that  the  operation  of  a  pair 
of  bellows  will  greatly  increase  the  intensity 
of  a  fire ;  but  what  man,  or  set  of  men,  could 
blow  such  bellows  as  should  be  applied  to  so 
great  a  mass  of  this  ?  For  some  time,  huge 
bellows  were  employed,  of  the  usual  shape, 
and  worked  by  a  water  wheel;  but  a  much 
more  powerful  blast  is  now  obtained,  by  a 
piston  working  in  a  cylinder,  upon  the  prin- 
ciple of  a  common  pump,  in  which  the  rod, 
with  its  bulby  head,  commonly  called  the 
sucker,  because  it  seems  to  suck  up  the  water 
from  the  well,  is  the  piston ;  and  the  tube  in 
which  it  works  is  the  cylinder.  The  only 
difference  in  effect,  is,  that  the  machine  I  am 


THE   BLAST    FURNACE.  117 

now  speaking  of,  throws  out  air  instead  of 
water.  As  the  piston  rises,  a  valve  is  opened, 
through  which  the  air  rushes  into  the  cylinder ; 
and  this  air,  by  the  descent  of  the  piston, 
which  closes  the  valve,  is  forced  into  the 
pipes,  which  convey  it  to  the  furnace.  By 
this  means,  when  the  piston  is  set  in  motion 
by  a  steam-engine,  the  blast  is  almost  incon- 
ceivably increased  in  power,  and  the  air  is 
driven  into  the  furnace  in  a  very  condensed 
state,  which  is  a  great  advantage.  The  cylin- 
der is  eight  feet  in  diameter,  and  eight  feet 
high;  the  stroke  of  the  piston  is  seven  feet. 
But,  as  the  orifices,  or  nose  pipes,  through 
which  all  this  mass  of  air  is  at  every  stroke 
forced  into  the  furnace,  are  only  two  or  three 
inches  in  diameter,  the  violence  of  the  blast 
may  be  supposed,  though  it  can  hardly  be 
described.  Its  effect,  when  driven  into  the 


118  PIG    IRON. 

furnace,  is  wonderful;  but  it  is  not  let  in  till 
the  matters  in  the  furnace  are  as  hot  as 
common  fire  can  make  them ;  for  till  then  it 
would  do  more  harm  than  good,  by  retarding 
the  operation.  When  this  powerful  blasting 
begins,  the  roaring  of  the  furnace  becomes 
tremendous  ;  the  effect  upon  the  metal  is 
irresistible;  and  it  is  continued  for  about  two 
hours. 

EXPLANATION  OF  THE   BLAST  FURNACE. 

A.  The  pumping  cylinder,  with  its  piston. 

B.  The  regulating  cylinder. 

C.  The  pipe,  for  conveying'air  to  the  furnace, 

D.  The  furnace. 

E.  A  man  feeding  the  furnace. 

"  After  the  lava,  or  melted  metal,  has  begun 
to  run  for  some  little  time,  it  is  let  out  into 
channels  formed  in  sand,  which  lead  it  into 


THE  BLAST  FURNACE. 


120  WHITRIGS    IRON    MINES. 

hollows,  formed  also  in  sand,  in  which  it  settles 
and  cools.  It  is  then  called  pig  iron. 

"  Iron  ore  is  found  in  many  parts  of  Britain ; 
and  as  the  nature  of  the  mines,  and  other 
operations  by  which  the  iron  stone  is  reduced 
to  pure  iron,  are  very  similar,  thay  need  not 
be  repeated  at  every  mine. 

"At  Whitrigs,  near  Ulverstone,  in  Lanca- 
shire, are  iron  mines,  which  have  been  wrought 
four  hundred  years,  and  yet  seem  to  be  inex- 
haustible. There  are  immense  beds  of  ore, 
from  thirty  to  fifty  feet  thick,  and  from  a  hun- 
dred to  a  hundred  and  twenty  wide.  The  ore 
is  red  and  greasy ;  those  who  are  engaged 
in  the  works  shew  the  color  on  themselves 
very  powerfully.  Sometimes,  two ,  hundred 
tons  are  raised  in  a  week ;  the  metal  produced 
from  it  is  more  than  half  the  weight.  Here 
the  smelting  is  effected  with  charcoal;  of 


IRON  MINES  IN  SCOTLAND.      121 

which  vast  quantities  are  burned  in  the  vici- 
nity. 

"  There  are  mines  of  iron  in  Scotland ;  and 
much  of  the  ore  is  smelted  at  the  Carron* 
founderies,  where  are  twenty  furnaces,  which 
consume  two  hundred  tons  of  coal  every 
week.  The  place  which,  a  few  years  ago, 
was  a  wild  heath,  is  now  a  considerable  town ; 
as  two  thousand  workmen  are  employed  at 
the  works.  The  machinery  is  of  the  most 
excellent  kind,  and  wonderful  in  its  opera- 
tions." 

*  Carron  is  situated  twenty-six  miles  north-west  of  Edinburgh. 
The  carronade,  a  kind  of  short  ship-gun,  derives  its  name  from 
having  been  first  made  here 

L 


IRON. 

RUSSIA. 

"WE  have  great  quantities  of  iron  from 
Russia.  The  principal  mines  are  situated  in 
the  Uralian  mountains,  which,  towards  the 
northern  part  of  the  eastern  border,  separate 
Russia  from  her  Asiatic  dominions. 

"  Here  are  above  a  hundred  founderies ; 
more  than  half  of  these  are  for  iron,  and  the 
remainder  for  copper.  The  peasants,  as  is 
common  in  Russia,  belong  to  the  estate, 
whether  private  persons  own  the  land,  or 
the  sovereign.  Almost  a  hundred  thousand 
of  them  work  in  these  mines,  at  the  will 
of  their  several  lords. 


RUSSIAN    MINES.  123 

"They  raise,  upon  an  average,  nearly  one 
hundred  thousand  tons  weight  of  iron  annu- 
ally; part  of  this  descends,  by  the  Wolga, 
to  the  eastern  provinces ;  and  the  greater 
part  of  it  is  towed,  through  rivers  and  canals, 
to  Petersburgh." 


TRON. 

SWEDEN. 

"  BY  all  the  feelings  which  belong  to  liberty, 
and  associate  with  the  name  of  Gustavus  Vasa, 
the  deliverer  of  Sweden,  we  must  pay  a  visit 
to  the  mountains  of  Dalecarlia,  where  he  was 
hid  so  long,  and  whose  hardy  sons  enabled 
him  to  resist  the  tyrannical  Danish  King, 
Christian  II.  Among  those  mountains,  and 
in  those  mines,  he  wrought  as  a  common 
laborer,  till  an  opportunity  occurred  for  his 
declaring  himself,  and  engaging  the  miners 
on  his  side.  The  inhabitants  of  those  dis- 
tricts have  a  great  veneration  for  his  memory, 
to  this  day/5 


SWEDISH   MINERS.  125 

"  I  suppose,"  said  James,  "  our  visit,  as 
usual,  is  to  be  paid  by  means  of  your  library, 
while  we  sit  by  the  fireside." 

"It  will  be  most  convenient.  We  shall 
employ  several  travellers ;  we  have  only  to 
fancy,  or,  as  children  say,  make  believe,  that 
we  have  sent  Messieurs  So-and-so  to  gain 
information,  and  to  report  to  us. 

"  One  of  them  says,  the  miners  and  black- 
smiths of  Sweden  are  well  fed,  and  lodged 
comfortably ;  and  he  gives  us  such  a  picture, 
uniting  vigor,  activity,  and  contentment,  as 
makes  it  pleasant  to  travel  among  their  vil- 
lages. When  night  comes  on,  the  sensations 
are  different,  and  almost  terrific.  The  din 
of  so  many  hammers  at  work  all  around, 
and  the  streams  of  light,  and  flame,  and 
black  smoke,  issuing  from  so  many  forges, 
powerfully  impress  the  mind  ;  even  the 


126  MINE   AT   DANNEMORA. 

clouds  seem  to  be  on  fire,  from  the  red  ra- 
diance. 

"The  most  important  of  the  iron  mines  is 
at  Darmemora,*  which  was  discovered  in 
1488.  The  opening  of  the  mine  is  of  great 
extent,  in  which,  here  and  there,  are  twelve 
pits;  and  down  these  the  mining  operations 
are  carried  on.  These  pits  are  deep  excava- 
tions, like  gravel  pits,  forming  so  many  gulfs. 
The  descent  into  them  is  by  means  of  baskets, 
or  buckets,  each  attached  to  a  rope,  which 
passes  over  a  pulley;  much  as  if  there  were 
a  projection  from  the  top  of  Salisbury  steeple, 
from  which,  in  a  basket,  one  could  be  let 
down  to  the  ground. 

"One  traveller,  speaking  of  this  descent, 
saysv  'The  inspector  of  the  mines  accompa- 
nied me:  I  was  accommodated  with  a  chair; 

*  Dannemora  is  distant  from  Stockholm  sixty  miles,  N.  N.  W. 


DESCENT  INTO  THE  IRON  MINES  OF  DANNEMORA. 


128  MODE    OF   DESCENT. 

but  he  seated  himself  on  the  edge  of  the 
bucket,  extending  his  legs,  in  order  to  maintain 
our  equilibrium.  He  had  a  stick  in  his  hand, 
with  which  he  occasionally  pushed  off  from 
the  edges  of  the  rock,  when  we  were  in 
danger  of  striking  against  them.  We  were 
above  five  minutes  making  this  perilous  jour- 
ney. The  depth  thus  descended  was  five 
hundred,  feet.  While  I  was  thus  descending, 
and  hung  in  mid  air,  another  bucket  was 
ascending.  I  was  so  giddy,  that  I  did  not 
dare  to  look  down;  but  as  it  passed  us,  I 
observed  three  girls  in  it,  or  rather  on  it,  as 
they  were  each  standing  on  the  edge  of  the 
bucket,  with  great  unconcern,  and  knitting  all 
the  while,  quite  at  their  ease.  So  much  does 
custom  take  away  the  sense  of  danger.  When 
I  rose  again,  I  closed  my  eyes,  till  I  arrived 
safe  at  the  surface.5 


DIMENSIONS    OF   THE    PITS.  129 

"The  motion  of  these  buckets,  up  and  down, 
is  regulated  by  wheel-work,  moved  by  horses. 

"The  water  is  drawn  out  of  the  mine  by 
pumps,  kept  in  motion  by  a  wheel  of  great 
size,  said  to  be  above  sixty  feet  in  diameter. 
It  is  then  conveyed  away  by  an  aqueduct,  a 
mile  and  a  half  long. 

"The  length  of  these  pits,  adding  them 
together,  is  about  eight  hundred  feet  ;  the 
breadth  varies  from  three  to  twelve  ;  the 
depth  has  been  ascertained  in  several  parts 
to  be  five  hundred  feet ;  but  that  does  not 
reach  the  bottom  in  some  places. 

"This  mine  furnishes  iron  in  high  repute, 
as  being  the  finest  in  the  world.  It  is  chiefly 
brought  over  to  England,  to  supply  the  man- 
ufactories of  steel  and  fine  goods. 

"The  ore  is  dug  in  summer,  and  laid  in 
heaps ;  in  winter,  it  is  removed  on  sledges 
9 


130       SMELTING  AND  FORGING. 

to  the  several  forges.  The  richest  ore  yields 
seventy  per  cent,  of  iron ;  the  poorer  sort  not 
half  so  much. 

"One  of  the  principal  forges  is  at  Loefsta. 
Here  the  numerous  buildings,  and  the  neat 
brick  cottages  for  the  workmen,  make  a  pleas- 
ing appearance. 

"Much  as  in  other  places,  is  the  operation 
of  smelting  performed.  The  ore  is  roasted, 
then  reduced  to  powder  by  the  mills;  it  is 
then  melted,  and,  running  into  sand  moulds,  is 
cast  into  huge  lumps,  each  weighing  above  a 
hundred  weight.  It  is  then  heated  and  ham- 
mered repeatedly,  till  it  is  shaped  into  bars, 
from  twelve  to  eighteen  feet  long,  and  from 
one  to  eight  inches  broad.  In  this  state  it 
comes  to  us. 

"One  remarkable  particular,  recorded  by 
another  observer,  is  the  manner  of  obtaining 


MODE    OF   GETTING   THE   ORE.  131 

the  ore  out  of  the  rock ;  it  is  not  dug  out,  as 
is  commonly  the  case,  but  torn  out  by  gun- 
powder. This  operation  takes  place  every 
day,  at  twelve  o'clock,  and  is  a  most  tremen- 
dous business.  The  explosion  reverberates 
among  the  hollow  windings  of  the  mine, 
like  subterraneous  thunders.  The  stones  are 
thrown  up,  as  by  a  volcano,  to  a  great  height 
in  the  air;  and  the  concussion  shakes  the 
earth  all  around. 

"  This  traveller  descended  also  into  the 
mine,  by  the  same  sort  of  dangerous  convey- 
ance, as  the  one  to  whom  I  have  just  alluded ; 
and  owns,  that  he  shuddered,  and  half  re- 
pented his  curiosity ;  for,  in  him,  it  was  nothing 
better.  He  was  nine  minutes  in  a  state  of 
suspension,  before  he  reached  the  bottom. 
The  view  of  the  mine,  he  describes  as  awfully 
grand.  Daylight  was  very  faint  at  these 


132  DANGEROUS   EMPLOYMENT. 

depths ;  into  many  parts  it  could  not  pene- 
trate, and  they  were  obliged  to  use  flambeaux. 
Frames  of  wood  were  stretched  from  side 
to  side  of  the  rock,  in  some  places ;  on 
these,  men  were  sitting  astride,  at  great 
heights,  boring  holes  for  the  next  blasting. 
Should  they  lose  their  balance,  they  must 
fall  and  be  dashed  to  pieces. 

"  Though  the  weather  was  warm  at  the 
surface  of  the  earth,  yet  amid  these  dark 
brown  caves  it  was  cold.  In  one  of  these 
caverns  considerably  under  the  rock,  was  a 
charcoal  fire,  around  which  were  eight  mise- 
rable creatures,  eating  their  meal  and  warm- 
ing themselves.  The  warmth  was  a  great 
refreshment,  for  the  way  was  strewed  with 
ice,  almost  every  where  in  the  mines. 

"  Some,  who  have  been  disinclined  to  the 
airy  voyage  in  the  bucket,  have  descended, 


BORING  THE  ROCK  FOR  BLASTING. 


134  USES   OF    IRON. 

in  another  part  by  ladders.  These  are  crazy 
things,  and  would  be  esteemed  very  dan- 
gerous, except  as  compared  with  the  rope. 
They  are  also  placed  almost  perpendicularly, 
from  one  projection  of  the  rock  to  another. 
There  is  no  small  peril  in  this  mode,  as  might 
be  supposed,  if  the  descent  were  from  the  top 
of  St.  Paul's ;  which  is  about  three-fourths  of 
the  same  depth. 

"How  necessary  is  iron  to  all  our  manu- 
factures, and  to  the  cultivation  of  our  fields 
and  gardens !  It  is  drawn  out  into  vecy  fine 
wire,  and  moulded  into  a  variety  of  vessels 
for  domestic  use.  To  convert  it  into  steel,  of 
which  our  best  cutlery  is  made,  nothing  more 
is  necessary  than  to  heat  good  pure  iron  in 
a  proper  furnace,  with  charcoal,  or  with  any 
substance  capable  of  furnishing  a  sufficient 
quantity  of  carbon,  which  is  absorbed  by  the 


FORMATION    OF    STEEL.  135 

iron  in  the  process.  Of  this  steel  are  made 
articles  which  admit  of  the  most  beautiful 
polish.  Iron  is  more  affected  by  the  magnet 
than  any  other  mineral;  and  thus  it  becomes 
a  sure  guide  to  tbe  mariner  over  the  trackless 
waters." 


COAL. 

NEWCASTLE.* 

"CERTAINLY,  now  we  are  at  Newcastle/' 
said  the  father,  "  we  must  see  how  they  make 
coals." 

" Make  coals!"  said  James.  "Nay,  father, 
they  do  not  make  coals,  they  dig  them  out  of 
the  earth,  out  of  deep  pits." 

"  I  suppose  we  shall  see,"  was  the  answer. 

Accordingly  they  made  the  intended  visit. 

*  Newcastle,  which  is  situated  in  the  greatest  coal  district  in  the 
world,  is  a  seaport  of  England,  capital  of  Northumberland,  on  the 
north  branch  of  the  Tyne,  ten  miles  from  its  mouth ;  one  hundred 
miles  south  of  Edinburgh,  and  two  hundred  and  seventy  north  of 
London. 


BORING    FOR    COAL.  137 

It  happened,  luckily,  that  a  friend  conducted 
them  to  a  spot,  where  they  were  that  morning 
going  to  bore  for  coal,  in  order  to  discover  if  a 
new  mine  might  be  formed.  The  boring  rods 
are  iron  bars,  each  about  an  inch  and  a  half 
square,  and  from  three  to  four  feet  long;  the 
end  is  formed  into  a  screw,  so  that  the  bars 
can  be  joined  together,  to  any  length  that 
may  be  needed.  At  the  end  of  the  first, 
or  lower  bar,  is  a  chisel,  half  a  yard  long,  and 
about  two  and  a  half  inches  wide ;  and  at  the 
end  of  the  upper  bar  is  an  eye,  or  loop,  of 
iron,  very  strong,  through  which  a  long  piece 
of  timber  is  put,  by  which  to  turn  the  borer 
round. 

James  watched  the  operation,  and  saw  that 

the  men  lifted  up  the  borer  a  little  way  in  the 

hole  it  had  made,  and  then  let  it  fall  again, 

taking  care  to  turn  it  a  little  round  as  it  fell. 

M 


138  BORING    FOR   COAL. 

It  is  a  tedious  business,  especially  when  the 
stratum  through  which  they  are  boring  is  very 
hard,  as  a  rock,  for  instance.  The  chisel  soon 
becomes  blunted,  and  must  be  drawn  out,  to 
be  replaced  by  another.  Indeed,  they  fre- 
quently draw  up  the  borer,  and  put  down  a 
wimble,  or  sort  of  scoop,  with  which  they  bring 
up  the  dust  which  the  chisel  has  made;  and 
from  this  dust  they  can  tell  what  sort  of  sub- 
stances they  are  boring  through. 

When  they  find  coal,  their  first  concern  is 
to  clear  the  water  off;  for  all  the  joints  and 
separations  of  the  stratum  of  coal,  in  general, 
flow  with  water  copiously.  If  the  coal  be  so 
situated,  as  to  height  in  the  hill,  that  a  drain,  or 
level,  can  be  led  to  it,  this  is  the  best  way ; 
unless  the  distance,  or  the  hardness  of  the  soil, 
should  make  it  too  expensive.  In  that  case,  a 
steam-engine  is  built,  to  pump  the  water  out. 


DRAINING    A    COAL    MINE.  139 

When  this  is  resolved  on,  a  pit,  or  well, 
about  six  or  eight  feet  in  diameter,  is  sunk, 
below  the  deepest  part  of  the  stratum  of  coal : 
the  water  will  naturally  flow  into  this,  i  and 
clear  the  mine,  if  pumped  out  as  fast  as  it 
flows  in. 

When  the  engine  pit  is  prepared,  so  that 
the  water  can  be  drawn  off,  they  drive  the 
mine,  as  it  is  called,  so  as  to  come  at  the 
coal. 

We  may  here  give  the  substance  of  James's 
letter  to  his  mother,  sent  off  by  post  the 
next  day. 

"DEAR  MOTHER, 

"Our  journey  into  the  pit,  (we  being  re- 
solved to  see  it,)  was,  at  least  to  us,  rather 
adventurous.  It  will  do  better  to  read,  than 
to  repeat ;  as,  by  the  fireside,  you  will  not 
be  in  danger,  as  we  were. 


140  A    PERILOUS   JOURNEY. 

"  When  we  came  to  the  opening  of  the  pit, 
the  first  object  which  caught  our  attention  was 
the  thump,  thump,  of  an  enormous  steam- 
engine,  which  was  employed  to  pump  up  the 
water  out  of  the  mine. 

"  Near  this  was  a  circular  hole,  down  which 
we  were  to  go ;  so  filled  with  smoke,  that  we 
could  discern  nothing  else;  it  seemed  like  a 
descent  into  a  vast  chimney ;  and  that,  too, 
while  they  were  busy  cooking  below. 

"  We  were  first  desired  to  dress  ourselves : 
indeed,  this  seemed  needful,  unless  we  would 
utterly  spoil  our  clothes ;  as  to  our  faces,  we 
knew,  by  experience,  they  could  be  washed. 
We  put  on,  therefore,  miners'  jackets  and  trow- 
sers,  with  caps  over  our  heads ;  and,  thus  ac- 
coutred, we  prepared  for  our  suffocating  jour- 
ney. But  how  were  we  to  descend?  There 
were  no  stairs ;  but  we  found  prepared,  a  log 


DESCENT    INTO    A    COAL    MINE.  141 

of  wood,  about  three  inches  thick,  and  half  a 
yard  long ;  fastened  by  a  rope  at  each  end,  so 
as  to  swing  horizontally.  This  sling,  or  horse, 
as  it  is  called,  was  slung  by  a  hook  to  an  iron 
chain.  Each  of  us,  therefore,  had  to  put  one 
leg  through  this  loop,  across  the  wooden  bar, 
and  lay  hold  tight  of  the  chain,  by  which  all 
was  suspended;  both  of  us  went  together. 
We  were  then  pushed  from  the  firm  ground, 
and  began  swinging;  and  found  ourselves 
gently  sinking,  by  the  turning  of  the  ma- 
chinery, which  went  by  horses.  In  about  five 
long  minutes,  for  so  they  seemed  to  us,  we 
felt  the  ground  again ;  and  got  out,  or  off  of 
our — what  shall  we  call  it — a  carriage? 

"Feeling  our  feet  again,  we  began  to  pe- 
rambulate ;  which  we  could  do  as  easily  as  if 
in  our  drawing-room.  Not  that  our  dresses, 


142  INTERIOR   OF   A    COAL    MINE. 

or  our  black  faces,  would  have  been  at  all 
suitable  for  that.  We  seemed  to  be  entering 
a  vast  suite  of  black  chambers,  supported  and 
divided  by  regular  pillars  of  immense  size. 
The  roof  seemed  only  about  seven  feet  high, 
and  the  chambers  about  twelve  feet  wide ; 
but  how  far  the  stratum  of  coal  reaches,  they 
cannot  tell, — perhaps  half  under  the  county; 
at  least,  so  they  hope,  and  so  do  we  hope 
too ; — for  I  don't  know  what  London  would 
do  for  firing,  if  these  coal-pits  were  to  fail. 

"Now  for  our  ascent: — it  was  by  the  same 
means  as  our  descending.  We  were,  how- 
ever, surprised,  when  about  half  way  up,  to 
hear  a  voice  say,  'How  do  you  do,  gentlemen?' 
We  were  so  smothered  in  the  smoke,  that  we 
could  see  nobody;  but  we  found  it  was  a 
common  joke,  for  some  of  the  men  to  begin 


PROCESS    OF    WORKING.  143 

descending,  and  thus  meet  and  surprise  the 
half  stupified  travellers,  in  midway  of  their 
swinging." 

In  working  the  mine,  a  common  practice  is, 
to  take  away  the  stratum  of  coal  only  partially, 
leaving  huge  pillars  of  it  to  support  the  roof. 
When  they  have  thus  proceeded  some  way, 
the  miners  come  back  and  work  out  those 
pillars ;  which  occasions  the  earth  above  to  fall 
in,  and  fill  up  the  cavity.  These  pillars  are 
not  left  at  random,  but  at  regular  intervals, 
and  are  of  regular  shapes;  from  twelve  to 
eighteen  feet  thick.  When  they  have  wrought 
out  all  the  pillars  that  can  be  safely  removed, 
there  will  be  left  an  eighth  or  more,  of  the 
whole  substance  of  the  coal,  which  they  dare 
not  touch. 

In  one  place,  they  saw  horses  employed  in 


144        FEMALE  COAL  BEARERS. 

drawing  sledges,  loaded  with  great  baskets 
filled  with  coal;  five  or  six,  and  sometimes 
eight  hundred  weight,  are  drawn  out  at  a 
time,  by  one  horse,  if  the  slope  be  not  too 
steep.  A  mine  is  formed  on  purpose,  with 
a  gentle  slope  for  them,  where  it  can  con- 
veniently be  done.  But  the  surprise  of  the 
party  was  not  small,  when,  coming  to  a  place 
where  no  such  slope  could  be  made,  they 
found  the  poor  horses  let  down  to  their  work, 
tied  up  in  a  net.  Where  the  mine  is  not  large 
enough  for  horses  to  work,  the  coal  is  removed 
by  men,  who  drag  about  half  the  load  of  a 
horse,  on  a  low  carriage  of  four  wheels.  In 
some  places,  neither  of  these  modes  is  pos- 
sible ;  so  the  coals  are  brought  out  by  women, 
called  bearers,  who  carry  them  in  baskets,  on 
their,  heads  ;  the  load  is  a  hundred  weight,  and 
often  more.  And  this  is  done  in  places  where 


WOMEN  BEARING  COAL. 


10 


N 


146  NEWCASTLE    COAL    MINES. 

the  ascent  is  so  steep,  that  the  carriage  drawn 
either  by  horses  or  men,  could  not  be  used 
The  coal  is  thus  brought  from  the  place  where 
it  is  dug  out,  to  the  bottom  of  the  shaft,  which 
opens  to  the  surface  of  the  earth ;  this  is  some- 
times a  very  considerable  distance.  At  the 
shaft,  the  coals  are  put  into  baskets,  fastened  to 
a  rope,  and  drawn  up  by  a  sort  of  windlass, 
called  a  gin,  set  in  motion  by  horses,  or  by  a 
water-wheel,  or  by  a  steam-engine ;  as  may  be 
most  convenient  at  each  place.  The  depth  of 
some  of  the  mines,  below  the  surface,  is  often 
seven  or  eight  hundred  feet. 

When  the  coals  have  fairly  arrived  on  the 
surface  of  the  earth,  they  are  carried  a  small 
distance  from  the  mouth  of  the  pit ;  and  sorted 
into  three  heaps,  according  to  their  sizes. 

There  are  between  twenty  and  thirty  coal 
mines,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Newcastle. 


WAGON-WAYS   AND   RAIL-ROADS.          147 

Some  are  within  five  miles  of  the  river/and 
some  almost  twenty  miles  distant.  To  cart 
so  heavy  a  substance  all  this  distance,  would 
cost  so  much,  that  coals  in  London  would 
amount  to  double  their  present  price.  But 
knowledge  is  fruitful  in  expedients.  Wagon- 
ways,  or  rail-roads,  of  iron,  are  constructed, 
down  wrhich  the  wagons  roll  with  great  ease ; 
so  that  one  horse  will  draw  as  much  as  ten  on 
a  common  road.  A  rail-road  consists  of  two 
shallow  grooves  of  iron,  well  fastened  on  stone 
work  in  the  ground,  upon  which  the  wheels 
of  the  carriage  run ;  or,  sometimes,  the  rail- 
way consists  of  an  iron  ridge,  fastened  as 
before;  and  then  the  iron  wheels  of  the  car- 
riage have  each  a  shallow  groove  to  work 
upon  it.  The  wagons  are  of  a  funnel  shape; 
and  when  one  arrives  at  the  wharf,  a  door 
in  the  bottom  is  opened,  which  lets  the  coals 


148  KEELS   AND   KEELMEN. 

through,  into  the  keel,  or  barge,  which  is 
placed  properly  underneath. 

The  keel  is  a  clumsy  oval-shaped  barge, 
in  which  the  coals  are  rowed  down  the  river, 
to  the  ships,  which  wait  to  receive  them. 
The  keelmen  are  a  numerous  body,  rough 
and  hardy ;  not  fewer  than  six  thousand  in 
number.  But  it  is  calculated  that  almost 
seventy  thousand  persons  are  employed  by 
these  mines,  in  various  ways ;  and  the  ca- 
pital by  which  the  works  are  carried  on, 
amounts  to  more  than  three  millions  ster- 
ling. 

In  one  part  of  the  mine,  an  accident  had 
recently  happened,  called  a  crash.  The  pil- 
lars left  to  support  the  roof,  being  too  slender, 
had  failed ;  or  else  the  floor  of  the  mine  was 
too  soft,  and  had  suffered  the  pillars  to  sink 
in;  so  that  the  roof  fell  in,  with  the  whole 


FOUL    AIR    IN    MINES.  149 

mass  of  earth  above  it.  This  sort  of  accident 
seldom  happens  without  giving  notice,  by  pre- 
vious cracks,  and  the  falling  of  detached  pieces 
from  the  roof.  In  this  case,  the  miners  some- 
times build  up  stone  piers,  to  support  the 
roof,  if  a  fall  in  that  spot  would  greatly  hin- 
der the  work ;  otherwise  they  clear  away 
more  of  the  coal  pillars,  and  let  it  sink  in 
gently. 

Many  dreadful  accidents  arise  from  foul  air, 
of  which  there  are  two  sorts :  one,  the  black 
damp,  is  of  a  suffocating  nature ;  the  other 
is  inflammable,  and,  taking  fire,  explodes  with 
great  violence,  or,  perhaps,  sets  on  fire  the 
wrhole  body  of  coal,  so  as  to  destroy  the 
mine.  The  workpeople  take  great  care, 
therefore,  to  bring  a  current  of  fresh  air  into 
the  mine,  which  carries  off  the  foul  gas,  and 


150  THE    SAFETY   LAMP. 

prevents  its  accumulating  to  any  dangerous 
quantity. 

A  few  years  ago,  a  dreadful  explosion  oc- 
curred at  the  Felling  colliery,  near  Newcastle ; 
and  as  these  accidents  are  too  sudden  to  allow 
of  escape,  more  than  one  hundred  persons, 
who  were  at  work  in  the  mine,  perished  in 
an  instant;  and  nearly  five  hundred  widows 
and  children  were  plunged  into  distress  and 
destitution. 

Philosophy  has,  in  modern  times,  endea- 
vored, with  some  success,  to  guard  against 
this  calamity,  so  terrible  and  so  irresistible. 
Sir  H.  Davy  has  invented  what  is  called  a 
safety  lamp,  for  the  use  of  men  working  in 
the  mines.  It  consists  of  a  common  lamp, 
covered  with  a  skreen  of  very  fine  wires, 
woven  very  closely  together.  The  light 


THE    SAFETY    LAMP.  151 

passes  between  the  bars,  in  a  sufficient  degree 
to  assist  the  workmen ;  but  the  foul  air  is  so 
dense,  and,  one  might  almost  say,  so  ropy,  that 
it  cannot  pass  between  the  wires  to  get  at  the 
flame;  and  nothing  short  of  actual  contact 
with  the  blaze  will  set  it  on  fire. 


COAL. 

SUNDRIES. 

ALTHOUGH  Newcastle  has  long  been  the 
grand  source  of  supply  of  coals  for  London, 
as  well  as  for  the  eastern  and  a  considerable 
portion  of  the  south  coasts  of  the  kingdom,  yet 
there  are  many  other  mines  of  this  precious 
substance. 

It  has  been  calculated,  that  as  a  mere  com- 
modity for  sale,  more  value  has  been  raised 
from  the  coal  mines,  than  from  the  silver  mines 
of  Potosi,  or  the  gold  mines  of  Mexico.  This 
value  becomes  enhanced  to  the  nation,  in  an 
almost  incalculable  degree,  by  the  use  to  which 


ANNUAL   SUPPLY  OF  COAL.  153 

coal  is  put  in  manufactories.  A  hundred 
pounds  worth  of  coal  employed  in  steam- 
engines  and  iron  forges,  soon  produces  its 
thousands  in  some  useful  or  ornamental  article. 
The  various  fabrics  thus  brought  to  perfection, 
from  the  huge  anchor  of  a  man  of  war,  to  the 
delicate  bobbinet-lace  of  a  lady's  fashionab1- 
dress,  with  numerous  et  ceteras,  are  beyond 
calculation.  Were  the  coal  mines  to  cease, 
nine-tenths  of  the  activities  of  the  British 
empire  must  cease  also. 

"  One  would  think,"  said  James,  "  that,  so 
much  as  they  dig  out  every  year,  they  must 
soon  come  to  the  end  of  the  mine ;  and  then, 
what  should  we  do  for  coal?" 

"  That  may  become  a  serious  question,  some 
day,"  said  Mr.  Thompson.  "Especially  con- 
sidering that  they  have  been  digging  here  four 
hundred  years ;  and  that  they  now  excavate 


154         BORROWSTOWNESS  COAL  MINE. 

to  the  amount  of  one  million  eight  hundred 
thousand  chaldrons  every  year,  to  supply 
London  only ;  add  to  this  what  the  eastern 
and  southern  coasts  of  the  kingdom  consume, 
and  what  is  exported  to  foreign  nations ;  and 
we  shall  make  a  total  amount  of  two  and  a 
half  millions  of  chaldrons,  dug  out  every  year." 

"  I  hope  it  will  last  my  time  !"   said  James. 

"  Posterity  may  thank  you  for  such  a  selfish 
wish ;  but  such  privation  need  not  be  feared 
yet.  Newcastle  and  its  neighborhood  can 
supply  us  for  four  hundred  years  more;  and 
there  are  many  mines  in  other  parts  of  the 
kingdom,  some  of  which  have  never  been 
worked,  but  which  would  become  of  value,  if 
our  present  means  of  supply  should  fail. 

"  One  of  the  most  remarkable  mines  of  coal 
was  found  in  the  parish  of  Borrowstowness,  in 
Scotland.  This  mine  penetrated  to  a  great 


MINES   FROM    UNDER   THE    SEA.  155 

extent  under  the  sea.  About  the  entrance, 
which  was  situated  half  a  mile  from  the  beach, 
an  embankment  was  made,  to  keep  off  the 
waters;  and  ships  could  lie  close  up  to  take 
in  the  coal.  Several  springs  of  fresh  water 
oozed  into  the  works ;  but  the  water  was 
drawn  off  by  an  engine,  moved  by  the  tide. 
For  many  years  this  was  a  profitable  concern, 
and  brought  great  wealth  to  the  Earl  of  Kin- 
cardine, to  whom  it  belonged.  The  end  of  it 
was,  however,  very  calamitous.  An  unusually 
high  tide  overtopped  the  mounds  around  the 
entrance ;  the  sea  rushed  in,  filled  the  mine, 
and  drowned  all  who  happened  to  be  at  work 
in  it  at  that  moment.  It  has  not  been  wrought 
since. 

"  At  Whitehaven,  in  Cumberland,  is  a  mine 
very  similar ;  as  it  runs  under  the  sea  to  a 
great  distance.  The  works  are  sunk  almost 


156  CANNEL    COAL. 

eight  hundred  feet  deep;  and  vessels  ride  at 
anchor,  over  the  heads  of  the  miners. 

"  A  peculiar  sort  of  coal,  called  Cannel  Coal 
is  found  in  Staffordshire,  Cumberland,  and 
Lancashire.  It  is  so  hard  that  it  will  not  only 
admit  of  being  turned  in  a  lathe,  to  form  boxes, 
and  ornamental  articles,  as  inkstands,  salt- 
cellars, candlesticks,  &c.,  but  it  will  bear  a 
polish,  and  will  not  soil  the  most  delicate 
linen.  It  is,  however,  chiefly  used  for  fuel ; 
and  it  gives  a  remarkably  clear  flame,  like  a 
candle ;  whence  its  name,  possibly :  but  it 
must  be  sprinkled  with  water  before  it  is 
laid  on  the  fire,  otherwise,  as  soon  as  it  gets 
warm,  it  will  crack  and  fly  into  the  room,  in 
a  multitude  of  small  pieces.  It  is  said,  that 
the  chequered  pavement  of  Litchfield  cathedral 
is  laid  with  cannel  coal  for  the  black  squares, 
and  alabaster  for  the  white. 


A  CURIOUS  DISCOVERY.  157 

"Bovey  Heath,  in  Devonshire,  has  a  remark- 
able species,  which  bears  its  name,  Bovey  Coal: 
it  has  the  appearance  of  having  been  originally 
wood.  A  similar  kind  is  also  found  in  Scotland 
and  in  Iceland. 

"  A  curious  discovery  was  made,  some  years 
since,  at  Bally  castle,  in  Ireland,  of  an  ancient 
coal  mine.  The  colliers  were  carrying  a  new 
adit,  or  roadway ;  and  meeting  with  a  stratum 
of  rock,  they  bored  through  it.  They  then 
perceived  they  were  entering  into  a  vast 
cavern.  As  the  opening  made  was  as  yet  but 
small,  they  caused  a  couple  of  boys  to  creep 
through,  with  lights,  to  discover  to  what  and 
where  they  were  come.  These  soon  lost 
themselves  in  the  windings  of  the  cavern. 
The  workmen  then  enlarged  the  hole,  and, 
going  after  them,  perceived  they  had  entered 
a  mine,  which  led  them  a  long  way,  and 


158  COLLIERIES  AT  DYSART. 

i 

branched  off  into  many  chambers,  which  had 
been  worked  ages  before,  as  no  traditional 
remembrance  or  history  of  any  coal  mine 
there,  was  in  existence.  Pillars  were  left  to 
support  the  roof,  much  after  the  modern 
custom.  Some  remains  of  tools  and  baskets 
were  found;  but  so  decayed,  that  they  crumb- 
led to  dust  on  being  touched.  That  it  was 
long,  long  ago,  since  these  chambers  had  been 
worked,  was  evident,  as  stalactite  pillars  were 
formed  by  the  dripping  of  water  through  the 
rock  above ;  some  of  them  reaching  to  the 
floor.  Such  pillars  of  such  a  size,  could  only 
be  formed  during  the  lapse  of  many  ages. 

"  In  Scotland,  there  are  many  coal  works. 

"  Near  Dysart,*  is  a  collection  of  collieries, 
remarkable  for  having  many  of  the  beds  of 

*  A  seaport  on  the  Frith  of  Forth,   twelve   miles  north  of 
Edinburgh. 


COLLIERIES  AT  DYSART.  159 

coal  on  fire,  which  have  been  burning  for  two 
centuries.  At  present  the  heat  only  warms 
the  earth,  so  as  to  prevent  snow  from  lying 
long  on  the  surface ;  but,  in  times  past,  there 
was  smoke  by  day,  and  flame  by  night,  to  a 
very  awful  degree. 

"  A  traveller  who  visited  the  Dysart  mine, 
writes  thus:  'I  have  made  a  journey  lately, 
where  there  were  no  trees,  no  fields:  there  was 
a  river,  indeed,  beside  us,  but  no  fish  ever 
swam  in  it ;  and  in  the  air  far  around  no  bird 
has  ever  been  known  to  fly !  I  have  been  in 
the  coal  mines  at  Dysart.  I  repaired  to  the 
inspector's  house,  and  was  dressed.  Conceive 
my  slender  body  wrapped  in  a  sailor's  jacket 
and  trowsers,  which  had  been  made  for  a  stout 
man.  I  was  crowned  with  an  immense  old 
hat,  which  had  an  irresistible  tendency  to  rest 
upon  my  shoulders.  After  half  an  hour's 


160  COLLIERIES    AT  DYSART. 

walk  in  this  fantastic  attire,  during  which  time 
I  afforded  some  merriment  to  the  natives,  we 
reached  the  place  of  descent.  It  is  a  perpen- 
dicular shaft,  with  a  wooden  partition  in  the 
middle,  reaching  to  the  bottom.  On  one  side 
of  this  partition  are  placed  short  wrooden 
ladders,  in  a  zigzag  direction,  from  top  to 
bottom  of  the  pit. 

"'Having  each  lighted  his  candle,  we  began 
to  descend,  and  were  right  glad,  after  some 
fatigue,  to  find  we  had  reached  the  bottom; 
though  we  were  still  half  a  mile  from  the  shaft 
where  the  coals  are  taken  up.  My  friend  led 
the  way  with  a  lantern ;  and  we  soon  began  to 
perceive  that  we  had  entered  a  spacious 
gallery,  the  roof  of  which  was  about  twelve 
feet  high.  By  the  glimmer  of  our  candles  on 
the  right  hand,  the  wall  seemed  to  be  solid; 
but  on  the  left  now  and  then  appeared  a 


MINES  AT  DYSART.  161 

spacious  gloomy  cavern,  which  seemed  to  turn 
at  right  angles  to  the  route  we  were  pursuing ; 
but  how  far  we  could  not  tell,  it  was  all 
impenetrable  darkness.  We  were  then  walk- 
ing in  what  the  miners  call  the  level.  On  our 
side,  a  river  flowed,  fed  by  streams  from 
various  caverns,  or  sometimes  by  a  waterfall, 
where  the  roof  had  given  way.  Hitherto  the 
murmur  of  the  stream  had  alone  broken  the 
dreary  stillness  of  these  caverns,  and  the  feeble 
rays  of  our  candles  only  made  visible  the  dark- 
ness which  they  could  not  dissipate.  But  now 
other  sounds  and  lights  began  to  burst  upon 
us :  a  fire  was  seen  blazing  at  a  distance,  and 
a  number  of  motley  faces  danced  and  gleamed 
before  us,  like  the  figures  of  a  magic  lantern. 
The  clanking  of  chains  and  the  trampling 
of  horses,  were  now  distinctly  heard;  and  a 
hollow  sound  as  of  distant  thunder  grumbled 
11  O 


162  INTERIOR    OF    THE 

through  the  subterranean  vaults,  as  the  loaded 
baskets  were  dragged  along. 

"'We  had  now,  in  fact,  arrived  at  the  pit, 
where  the  coals  are  raised  by  a  steam- 
engine.  We  had  not  yet  travelled  over  half 
our  ground,  but  the  remainder  of  the  journey 
was  more  expeditious.  A  train  of  empty 
baskets  was  ready  to  move,  in  which  we 
made  ourselves  comfortable  seats  with  straw. 
Our  horse  was  harnessed,  our  light  adjusted, 
and  in  a  few  minutes  we  started  at  the  full 
trot,  to  explore  the  yet  unseen  recesses  of 
this  seemingly  endless  labyrinth.  After  tra- 
velling another  mile,  we  arrived  at  the  place 
where  the  men  were  at  work.  Here  the  air 
was  very  close,  from  the  smoke  of  their  lamps  ; 
and  we  were  glad  to  make  our  way  back  on 
loaded  baskets,  though  contrary  to  the  laws 
of  these  realms.  We  took  no  candles  in 


TREASURES   OF  THE  EARTH.  163 

returning,  as  a  lamp  is  attached  to  each  train 
of  baskets.  By  accident  this  only  remaining 
light  went  out  about  the  middle  of  our  journey, 
and  we  were  left  in  darkness,  of  which  those 
above  ground  can  form  no  conception.  Our 
horse  continued  to  canter  along,  as  if  nothing 
had  happened,  at  a  rate  which  made  it  a  little 
difficult  for  me  to  keep  my  seat.  In  some 
time,  a  twinkling  lamp  appeared  at  a  distance, 
on  passing  which,  things  went  on  as  before. 
The  baskets  we  travelled  in  are  set  on  wheels, 
which  move  in  a  railway.  The  horses  are  in 
excellent  condition,  and  have  good  stables  in 
the  mine.  They  never  see  the  light  of  day 
from  the  time  they  are  first  lowered  down. 
Our  return  need  not  be  described  any  far- 
ther/" 


GOLD. 

GOLD  is  one  of  the  purest  metals;  and, 
on  that  account,  not  liable  to  perish  by  rust, 
or  by  fire.  It  is  malleable,  ductile,  resplen- 
dent, and  the  most  weighty  of  them  all:  half 
as  heavy  again  as  lead,  and  more  than  nine- 
teen times  the  weight  of  water,  bulk  for 
bulk. 

Gold  is  found  in  primitive  mountains,  usu- 
ally in  slender  veins,  often  penetrating  the 
hard  rock  itself.  But  it  is  more  commonly  ob- 
tained in  small  grains,  from  alluvial  soil,  that 
is,  such  as  forms  the  beds  of  rivers,  or  the 
sides  of  channels  which  have  been  created 
by  floods,  and  are  frequently  covered  with 
water.  Many  have  supposed  that  these  frag- 


GOLD    IN   SANDS   OP   RIVERS.  165 

ments  are  washed  down  from  the  adjoining 
mountains ;  and  persons  have  frequently  en- 
deavored to  trace  them  up  to  their  supposed 
original  beds  in  the  mountains,  where  they 
hoped  to  find  the  parent  vein,  and  become 
rich  at  once :  they  have,  however,  been  dis- 
appointed. Nay,  where  the  sands  of  the 
rivers  afford  golden  grains,  these  particles 
have  become  more  scarce  as  the  searchers 
approached  nearer  to  the  rocks  from  which 
the  streams  have  issued.  The  gold,  indeed, 
appears  only  here  and  there :  it  is  not  the 
whole  channel  that  affords  the  particles  of 
metal,  but  only  some  particular  districts, 
through  which  the  stream  passes. 

The  term  "Mine,"  which  seems  to  imply 
some  hollow,  artificially  excavated  beneath  the 
mountain,  must,  in  this  instance,  be  transfer- 
red to  places  where  the  miners  merely  dig 


166  GOLD   IN    SANDS   OF   RIVERS. 

up  the  surface  of  -the  soil,  and  wash  it,  in 
order  to  separate  the  precious  grains  from 
the  earth. 


GOLD. 

SUNDRIES. 

THE  most  ancient  gold  mines,  of  which 
we  have  any  account,  were  in  Spain,  in  the 
northern  provinces.  Thither  the  Phoenicians 
used  to  repair  for  the  precious  metal.  The 
Romans  also,  when  they  conquered  Spain, 
employed  the  native  Spaniards  to  dig  their 
own  mines  for  them;  much  as,  in  later  times, 
the  Spaniards  have  forced  the  Indians  of  South 
America  to  dig  for  their  profit.  The  mines  in 
Spain  consisted  of  veins  of  gold,  running  in 
the  rocks ;  but  they  have  been  long  neglected ; 
indeed,  ever  since  the  discovery  of  America 
has  enabled  the  Spaniards  to  obtain  gold  in  a 


168  GOLD   MINES   IN    HUNGARY. 

more  easy  and  plentiful  manner.  In  the  time 
of  Nero,  fifty  pounds  of  gold  were  obtained 
daily  from  the  mines  of  Dalmatia.  It  was 
found  on  the  surface  of  the  ground.  The 
island  of  Thasos,  in  the  JEgean  Sea,  also 
yielded  a  considerable  quantity.  France  has 
never  been  famous  for  gold;  yet  some  has 
been  found  in  a  few  of  her  rivers.  At  Gar- 
dette,  in  the  hard  rock,  were  some  veins  of 
native  gold ;  but  not  in  sufficient  quantity  to 
be  worth  the  working. 

A  little  is  found  in  Mount  Rosa,  in  Piedmont, 
just  enough  to  pay  for  obtaining  it.  We  find 
yet  more  among  the  craggy  mountains  in  the 
Tyrol. 

Hungary  has  been  much  celebrated  for  its 
mines,  and  not  without  reason.  The  modes 
of  operating,  and  the  machinery,  are  not  equal 
to  those  in  use  in  England ;  but  they  are  very 


SCOTTISH    GOLD    MINES.  169 

carefully  wrought.  It  is  supposed  that  nearly 
six  hundred  thousand  pounds,  in  gold,  are 
raised  every  year  at  Schemnitz  and  Cremnitz. 
One  third  as  much  of  silver,  besides  lead,  is 
drawn  from  thence.  These  are  the  only  gold 
mines  in  Europe,  of  any  importance. 

Sweden  has  some  gold  mines  at  Edelfors; 
where  native  gold,  in  veins,  traverses  a  rocky 
mountain. 

Russia  has  a  mine  at  Voetsk,  north  of  the 
lake  Onega ;  but  not  in  sufficient  quantities  to 
be  worth  the  working. 

In  Scotland,  gold  was  found,  ages  ago 
And  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  considerable 
quantities  were  collected  between  Leadhills 
and  Elvanfoot.  The  traces  of  the  works  then 
carried  on  yet  remain.  The  gold  was  found 
immediately  under  the  vegetable  soil.  Hither 
a  small  stream  of  water  was  conducted,  in 
P 


170        WICKLOW  GOLD  MINES. 

order  to  wash  away  the  light  earth  into  pools, 
or  basins,  dug  on  purpose;  in  this  state  of 
loose  mud,  the  heavier  particles  sank  in  the 
pit,  while  the  mere  earth  was  carried  off.  All 
those  heavier  matters  which  sank,  were  after- 
wards well  washed,  and  examined  for  the 
grains  of  gold.  Gold  is  still  found  in  Scot- 
land; but  the  increased  expense  of  seeking 
it,  renders  the  search  unprofitable.  Some  of 
those  who  work  in  the  adjacent  lead  mines, 
amuse  themselves  in  their  spare  time,  and 
now  and  then  pick  up  a  little. 

Much  was  said,  a  few  years  ago,  concerning 
the  mountains  of  Wicldow,  in  Ireland.  There 
some  large  lumps  of  gold  were  found,  in  a 
sandy  soil.  Several  were  of  an  ounce  weight 
each,  and  one  lump  weighed  twenty-two 
ounces.  This  is  said  to  be  the  largest  mass 
of  native  gold  ever  found,  any  where. 


ASIATIC    GOLD   MINES.  171 

We  expect  to  find  gold  in  Asia;  especially 
as  all  our  histories  of  the  earliest  ages,  even 
long  before  Nebuchadnezzar's  golden  image, 
ninety  cubits  in  height,  was  erected,  speak 
of  gold  being  in  great  plenty.  Solomon  made 
it  to  abound  so,  that  silver  was  little  thought 
of.  Nay,  as  far  back  as  the  time  of  Moses, 
and  the  erection  of  the  tabernacle  in  the  wil- 
derness, we  find  it  in  plenty.  The  whole 
continent  of  Asia  seems  to  furnish  it;  from 
Siberia  to  India,  and  from  the  western  pro- 
vinces to  Japan.  The  mines  of  Beresof,  in 
Siberia,  are  still  wrought;  those  of  Tcherepa 
Nafskoy  are  very  rich  in  gold.  In  the  south- 
ern parts,  as  in  India,  many  rivers  furnish  the 
precious  grains.  A  river  in  Lydia,  called 
Pactolus,  which  empties  itself  into  the  Archi- 
pelago, was  famous  in  ancient  story  for  its 
golden  sands.  The  river  runs  by  Sardis,  and 


172  AFRICAN    GOLD   MINES. 

is  said  to  have  been  the  chief  source  of  the 
long  famous  riches  of  Croesus.  In  the  east, 
the  islands  of  Japan,  Vonnosa,  Ceylon,  and 
most  of  the  islands  in  the  Eastern  Sea,  much 
gold  is  found  at  the  present  day. 

Africa  has  always  been  rich  in  gold.  The 
ancients  had  much  from  it.  That  Ophir,  from 
which  Solomon  received  his  supplies,  is  thought, 
with  great  probability,  to  have  been  on  the 
eastern  coast,  somewhere  about  where  Sofala 
now  stands.  Gold  is  still  an  article  of  com- 
merce with  all  the  Cafilas  which  traverse  its 
dreary  deserts.  This  is  evidently  the  produce 
of  the  rivers ;  as  it  comes  only  in  the  shape  of 
dust,  or  very  small  grains.  It  is  brought  for 
sale  in  quills  of  the  ostrich  and  the  vulture. 
The  centre  of  Africa  has  always  been  esteemed 
rich  in  gold.  Herodotus  tells  us,  that  the  King 
of  Ethiopia  brought  to  Cambyses  all  his  pri- 


AFRICAN   GOLD   MINES.  173 

soners  bound  with  chains  of  gold.  That  part 
of  Africa  which  lies  more  to  the  southward, 
which  we  trade  with  on  the  western  side,  by 
the  ports  of  Guinea,  Upper  and  Lower,  pro- 
duces much  gold  from  its  rivers,  such  as  the 
Senegal,  the  Gambia,  and  the  Niger. 


GOLD. 

MEXICO. 

AT  the  present  day  we  turn  our  eyes  to 
the  New  World,  in  search  of  golden  treasures. 
Ever  since  the  discovery  of  America,  gold  has 
been  the  grand  object  of  research  with  the 
European  settlers,  and  their  descendants,  in 
the  middle  districts.  That  those  regions 
abounded  in  this  splendid  metal,  we  have 
undeniable  testimony  to  prove ;  the  quantity 
discovered  in  use  there,  and  the  quantities 
gained  from  thence  every  year,  establish  this 
point  beyond  contradiction.  It  is  said,  that,  in 
gold  and  silver,  America  sends  annually  to 


RICHES  OF  ANCIENT  MEXICO.  175 

Europe,  twenty -four  millions  pounds  sterling  in 
value. 

When  Cortez  landed  in  Mexico,  the  most 
costly  presents  were  made  him  by  the  natives, 
in  the  hope  of  civilly  prevailing  with  him  to 
depart ;  but  the  value  of  these  presents  deter- 
mined him  to  stay  in  a  country  where  such 
magnificent  commodities  could  be  procured. 
Among  them,  were  two  large  plates  ;  one  of 
massive  gold,  representing  the  sun,  and  one 
of  solid  silver,  for  the  moon ;  besides  boxes 
filled  with  grains  of  virgin  gold,  just  as  they 
were  obtained  from  the  rivers.  Even  the 
governors  of  the  provinces  made  him  presents 
of  immense  value,  in  gold;  which,  though 
known  to  be  in  high  esteem,  was  in  that 
country  plentiful. 

The  description  of  Mexico  itself,  its  palaces, 
and  its  temples,  evinces  the  great  abundance 


176          UNCERTAINTY    OF  GOLD   MINES. 

of  gold,  in  the  massy  ornaments  of  that  metal, 
which  glittered  on  every  side. 

When  Cortez  retreated  from  Mexico,  he  left 
behind  him,  above  what  the  soldiers  could 
carry  away,  gold,  &c.  to  the  value  of  two 
hundred  thousand  pounds ;  and  in  stripping  the 
slain  after  the  battle  of  Otumba,  his  soldiers 
gained  an  almost  equal  value. 

As  gold  was  their  principal  object,  they, 
soon  after  gaining  the  country,  searched  for 
the  mines  themselves,  and  forcibly  obliged 
the  natives  to  dig  in  them.  It  is  calculated 
that  forty  thousand  of  them  are  still  kept  to 
this  labor,  in  New  Spain  only. 

The  principal  mines  are  situated  inland,  far 
from  the  sea ;  in  the  provinces  of  Zacatecas, 
New  Biscay,  and  Mexico  Proper.  But  the 
veins  of  gold  are  small,  and  the  produce 
uncertain.  It  has  been  observed,  that  gold 


VARIOUS   STATES  OF   GOLD   ORE.  177 

mines  have  generally  ruined  those  who  en- 
gaged with  them ;  although  the  purifying  of 
the  ore  is  not  so  expensive  as  that  of  other 
metals.  This  happens,  because  the  veins  are 
very  apt  to  fail.  For  a  while,  the  vein  will  be 
full  and  rich,  and  then  it  is  lost  on  a  sudden : 
when,  indeed,  a  vein  can  be  traced  to  its  end, 
the  miners  frequently  find  what  is  called  the 
purse  of  the  mine,  or  such  a  considerable 
quantity  as  at  once  makes  the  fortune  of  the 
adventurer. 

These  mines  are  not  wrought  at  the  public 
expense;  but  any  man,  who  suspects  gold  in 
any  place,  may  obtain  a  grant  of  the  land ; 
only  stipulating  to  begin  working  within  a 
certain  time. 

The  gold  here,  as  in  other  parts  of  the  world, 
is  found  in  two  different  states ;  either  within 
the  rock  in  veins ;  or  scattered  in  morsels,  in 
12 


178     OPERATIONS  TO  OBTAIN  GOLD. 

the  sands  of  rivers.  When  obtained  from  the 
rocks,  which  must  be  burst  asunder  to  get  at 
it,  it  is  sometimes  found  in  lumps,  or  masses, 
of  pure  metal,  called  native  gold;  but,  more 
frequently,  it  exists  in  a  mineralized  state, 
mingled  with  other  substances,  as  earth,  stone, 
sulphur,  &LC.  In  this  state  it  would  not  be 
recognised  by  an  ignorant  person ;  for  it 
is  red,  white,  black,  as  may  happen,  and 
shews  none  of  its  brilliancy  or  metallic  cha- 
racter. 

When  gold  is  found  in  this  state  of  mixture, 
the  ore  is  broken  in  pieces,  in  a  mill,  consisting 
of  an  upright,  circular  stone,  which  turns  on  its 
axis,  while  it  traverses  a  circular  trough ;  such 
as  is  employed  in  grinding  bark,  in  England. 
When  thus  broken,  some  of  the  refuse  is  easily' 
separated  from  it.  To  the  remaining  mass,  a 
considerable  quantity  of  quicksilver  is  added; 


BREAKING   GOLD   ORE   IN   MEXICO. 


180     OPERATIONS  TO  OBTAIN  GOLD. 

which,  having  a  strong  attraction  for  gold, 
fastens  upon  every  particle  of  it,  and  draws 
it  away  from  whatever  it  had  been  attached  to. 

When  the  gold  is  thus  amalgamated  with 
the  quicksilver,  a  full  stream  of  water  is  let 
into  the  vessel,  which  carries  with  it  the  lighter 
matters,  earth,  &,c.,  and  leaves  at  the  bottom 
the  heavy  metal :  the  amalgam,  thus  cleansed, 
is  squeezed  in  a  cloth ;  much  of  the  quicksilver 
is  thus  forced  out,  and  the  remainder  is  driven 
off  by  fire,  which  leaves  the  gold  pure. 

When  the  miners  suspect  gold  to  be  in  the 
bed  of  a  river,  they  turn  the  stream  away  from 
those  spots  in  which  they  conceive  it  may  lie. 
Then  they  loosen  the  bottom  of  the  river,  by 
digging ;  and  in  this  loosened  state  the  soil  is 
easily  washed  off  by  the  current,  which  is  let 
in  suddenly  for  the  purpose ;  and  a  stiff  earth 
remains  in  which  the  gold  is  concealed.  The 


GOLD  WASHING  IN  MEXICO. 


182     OPERATIONS  TO  OBTAIN  GOLD. 

waters  are  again  turned  off,  and  the  workmen 
dig  up  this  earth,  which  they  carry  away  to  the 
lavaderos,  or  washing  places.  Here  it  is  kept 
continually  stirred  with  iron  hooks  and  rakes, 
while  water,  rushing  in,  carries  away  the  earthy 
matter ;  and  the  gold,  from  its  weight,  falls  to 
the  bottom.  Still  it  is  mingled  with  a  black 
heavy  sand,  which  hides  the  gold,  unless  there 
be  a  few  lumps  larger  than  the  general  size ; 
and  to  get  rid  of  this  sand,  it  is  put  in  succes- 
sive portions  into  a  shallow  dish,  deepest  in 
the  middle,  and  filled  up  with  water.  With 
their  spread  fingers,  they  whirl  the  whole 
round  and  round ;  so  that  the  water  and  sand 
pass  over  the  edges  of  the  dish,  and  the  pure 
grains  of  gold  remain  in  the  central  hollow. 
This  gold  is  obtained  without  the  aid  of  quick- 
silver or  fire. 


GOLD. 

PERU. 

IF  we  pass  to  South  America,  we  may  con- 
template the  conquests  of  Pizarro;  and  we 
shall  find  a  great  display  of  its  golden  trea- 
sures. When  he  first  seized  the  too  credulous 
Atahualpa,  after  murdering  thousands  of  the 
unresisting  Peruvians,  the  spoil  taken  from  the 
slain  amounted  to  such  a  mass  of  wealth,  as 
made  the  Spaniards  almost  frantic  with  joy. 
The  captive  monarch,  finding  that  gold  was 
their  grand  object,  hoped  to  gain  his  liberty 
by  offering  an  immense  ransom.  The  room 
in  which  he  was  confined  measured  twenty- 


184  RICHES   OP   ANCIENT   PERU. 

two  feet  in  length,  and  sixteen  in  breadth; 
and  Atahualpa  offered  to  fill  it  with  golden 
vessels  as  high  as  a  man  could  reach.  His 
offer  being  accepted,  he  sent  messages  through 
all  his  dominions ;  and  from  the  palaces  of  his 
nobles,  and  the  temples  of  their  gods,  came 
the  golden  vessels,  in  obedience  to  his  orders. 
After  one  fifth  had  been  deducted  for  the  use 
of  the  King  of  Spain,  the  value  which  Pizarro 
immediately  shared  among  his  partj^  amounted 
in  value  to  three  hundred  and  twenty-six  thou- 
sand six  hundred  pounds  sterling.  But  though 
this  perfidious  Spaniard  had  obtained  the  sti- 
pulated ransom,  he  refused  to  liberate  the  cap- 
tive monarch.  * 

When  he  took  possession  of  Cuzco,  the 
booty  he  found  there  greatly  exceeded  in 
value  what  be  had  forced  from  Atahualpa. 


MINES   NEAR    LIMA.  185 

Plates  of  gold  and  silver  covered  the  walls 
of  the  temples,  and  the  shrines  of  the  ido- 
latrous worship. 

The  gold  mines  of  Peru  are  situated  chiefly 
in  the  northern  provinces,  almost  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Lima.  These  mines  tempted  many 
to  devote  their  whole  strength  to  them.  But 
this  mode  of  advancing  their  wealth  came  into 
disrepute,  from  the  circumstance,  that  although 
a  few  large  fortunes  had  been  realized,  yet  the 
great  proportion  of  persons  engaging  in  them 
had  spent  their  property,  and  were  reduced  to 
great  indigence.  Indeed,  to  prevent  their  be- 
ing abandoned,  the  government  was  obliged  to 
remit  the  fifth  which  had  been  previously 
claimed;  and  be  content  with  a  twentieth 
of  the  metal  extracted. 

In  the  more  northern  provinces  of  South 
America,  much  gold  is  found.  In  the  province 
Q 


186  GOLD   FROM   ALLUVIAL   SOILS. 

of  New  Granada,  near  Santa-Fe-de-Bogota,  it 
is  obtained  from  alluvial  soils,  and  cleansed  by 
simple  washing.  It  is  found  in  considerable 
plenty  near  Pampeluna,  where  a  single  laborer 
has  sometimes  found  as  much  as  was  worth 
two  hundred  pounds,  in  a  day.  One  lump  of 
virgin  gold  was  brought  from  Santa  Fe,  worth 
almost  right  hundred  pounds  sterling. 


GOLD. 

BRAZIL. 

BUT  the  greatest  quantity  of  gold  brought 
into  the  market,  in  the  present  day,  comes 
from  Brazil.  The  discovery  was  made  by  a 
party  of  soldiers,  who  were  sent  into  the 
inland  provinces  to  quell  an  insurrection,  and 
found  among  the  natives  some  fish-hooks  made 
of  gold;  on  inquiry,  they  were  informed  that 
the  gold  was  brought  down  from  the  mountains 
by  the  floods,  when  the  torrents  came  rushing 
into  the  valleys.  This  was  enough  to  instigate 
a  diligent  search.  It  is  true,  only  a  few  veins 
of  gold  were  discovered ;  but  the  quantities  of 
grains  found  after  the  floods,  exceeded  belief. 


188     GOLD  BROUGHT  PROM  BRAZIL. 

This  searching  for  gold  is  now  the  employment 
of  negroes,  who  have  this  privilege,  that  if  any 
one  brings  the  quantity  required  of  him,  his 
master  cannot  demand  of  him  any  more. 
Should  he  find  more,  therefore,  it  becomes 
his  own  property ;  and,  if  he  can  save  enough 
of  it,  he  may  purchase  his  freedom. 

The  registers  of  the  fleets  shew,  that  in 
about  sixty  years  after  the  discovery  of  the 
gold  mines  of  Brazil,  the  value  of  bullion 
brought  to  Europe,  amounted  to  upwards  of 
one  hundred  millions  sterling.  It  is  seventy 
years  since  that  calculation  was  made;  how 
much  more  must  have  been  brought  in  that 
time !  * 

It  is  affirmed,  that  a  single  grain  of  gold  can 
be  beaten  out,  or  spread  into  a  leaf  of  fifty 
square  inches ;  and  that  this  leaf  may  be  rea- 
dily divided  into  five  hundred  thousand  parts, 


DUCTILITY   OP   GOLD.  189 

visible  to  the  naked  eye.  It  is  asserted,  also, 
that  one  grain  of  this  metal,  as  thin  as  that 
with  which  artists  gild  what  is  called  gold  lace, 
would  cover  a  surface  of  nearly  sixty  square 
inches.  And  again,  that  a  grain  of  gold  may 
be  stretched  in  such  a  manner  as  to  cover 
more  than  sixty-three  yards  of  silver  wire. 
Indeed,  the  ductility  of  this  metal  is  almost 
incvedible. 


HUALPA  DISCOVERING  THE  SILVER  MINE  OF  POTOSI. 


SILVER. 

POTOSI. 

"Now  we  are  in  South  America,  we  may 
as  well  notice  the  silver  mines  of  that  country. 
We  can  leap  over  the  Andes  easily,  as  we  sit 
here,  and  come  at  once  to  Potosi." 

JAMES. — "I  think,  I  remember  something 
about  Potosi." 

"  Well,  let  us  hear  all  you  can  recollect." 

"Why,  I  think,  an  Indian, — what  was  his 
name? — O  Hualpa, — was  scampering  up  the 
side  of  a  mountain,  after  some  wild  animal  or 
other :  finding  it  had  jumped  up  a  steep  place 
quicker  than  he  could,  and  determining  to 
follow  it,  he  laid  hold  of  a  branch  oi  a  .shrub, 


192  HUALPA  THE   INDIAN. 

to  assist  him  in  climbing.  But  instead  of 
assisting  him,  it  broke  off  in  his  hand,  or  rather 
it  was  torn  up,  root  and  all,  out  of  the  earth. 
He  was,  however,  repaid  for  his  disappoint- 
ment, by  the  sight  of  something  bright  in  the 
hole  which  the  plant  had  come  from.  He  soon 
discovered  this  to  be  a  lump  of  silver;  and 
he  found  several  small  bits  sticking  about  the 
roots.  These  he  picked  off  carefully, — that 
he  took  up  lovingly, — and  home  he  went 
joyfully !  Right  glad  was  he  to  have  found 
such  a  treasure." 

"What,  then,  did  he  keep  it  all  to  him- 
self?" 

"No,  father.  It  would  have  been  better 
for  him,  if  he  had.  He  returned  to  his  mine, 
whenever  he  wanted  cash  ;  and  by  that  means 
grew  so  much  better  in  his  circumstances, 
that  his  neighbors  wondered  at  it.  One  of 


POTOSI    SILVER    MINE.  193 

these  was  his  particular  friend :  so,  whether 
to  stop  his  inquiries,  or  to  give  him  a  share, 
I  do  not  know ;  but  he  told  him  of  his  dis- 
covery, and  shewed  him  the  place ;  and  they 
both  helped  themselves  as  they  happened  to 
want." 

"  Well ;  but  as  there  was  enough  for  both, 
was  it  not  better  to  let  his  friend  have  a 
share?" 

"Yes,  I  suppose  so,  if  he  could  have  been 
sure  of  his  friend.  But  some  disagreement 
between,  them  arose,  because  Hualpa  would 
not  tell  how  he  purified  it ;  then  this  un- 
worthy friend  went  and  told  the  whole  to  a 
Spaniard.  The  mine  was  soon  taken  posses- 
sion of,  and  the  poor  Indians  got  no  more. 
The  mine,  indeed,  yielded  a  great  deal;  but 
the  Spaniards  took  it  all.  This  was  in  1545." 
13  K 


194  POPULATION    OF    POTOSI. 

"And  does  that  same  mine  continue  to 
yield  silver  still?"  said  James. 

"  Its  productiveness  was  soon  put  to  the 
trial ;  for  a  town  was  built  at  the  foot  of  the 
mountain  ;  ten  thousand  Spaniards  settled 
there,  to  gain  the  silver;  and  sixty  thousand 
poor  Indians  were  forced  to  go  thither,  to 
dig  out  the  ore  for  them.  This  mine  is  still 
worked,  as  are  several  others,  in  the  adjacent 
mountains.  The  country  around  is  barren, 
as  is  usually  the  case  where  there  are  metallic 
treasures  underneath.  The  inhabitants  of  Po- 
tosi  are  obliged  to  procure  nearly  the  whole 
of  their  provisions  from  the  neighboring  pro- 
vinces. 

"This  mine  is  in  a  mountain  by  itself,  like 
a  sugar-loaf  in  shape.  The  city  of  Potosi, 
although  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  is  not 


IGNORANCE  OF  THE  MINERS.      195 

in  a  valley,  but  high  up  in  the  Andes,  whose 
white  tops,  covered  with  snow,  glitter  at  a 
few  miles'  distance.  It  is  now  a  large  city, 
containing  a  hundred  thousand  inhabitants, 
including  slaves.  It  does  not  belong  to  the 
western  or  Peruvian  coast,  but  to  the  eastern 
side  of  South  America,  being  in  the  govern- 
ment of  La  Plata. 

"The  mountain  itself  is  about  eighteen 
miles  in  circumference,  at  bottom.  The 
miners  do  not  proceed  in  any  regular  or 
scientific  manner,  but  they  get  as  much  sil- 
ver as  they  can  obtain  easily;  none  of  them 
have  penetrated  above  seventy  yards  into  it, 
though  there  are  more  than  three  hundred 
pits ;  but  they  content  themselves  with  scoop- 
ing out  the  mere  surface  of  the  hill.  An  old 
conduit,  which,  a  hundred  years  ago,  led  into 


196  IGNORANCE    OF   THE   MINERS. 

several  mines,  is  now  filled  with  water,  there 
not  being  any  sufficient  machinery  to  clear  it 
off.  The  mountain  itself  seems  to  be  a  mass 
of  clayey  slate,  yellowish  and  hard.  Although 
it  has  produced  so  much  since  it  was  opened, 
yet  it  yields  only  about  six  or  eight  ounces  of 
silver  in  five  thousand  pounds  weight  of  the 
ore.  All  the  processes  for  roasting,  amalga- 
mating, or  refining  the  ore,  are  conducted  in  a 
slovenly  manner,  by  persons  ignorant  of  all 
scientific  modes  of  operation.  They  mingle 
quicksilver,  to  extract  the  metal,  as  is  done 
with  gold ;  but  they  do  not  get  half  the  silver 
out  again ;  and  the  waste  of  quicksilver  is 
enormous.  All  the  tools,  too,  with  which  the 
poor  Indians  work,  are  heavy  and  unsuitable. 

"  Some    German    miners    have   been   over 
there  lately,   who  are  shewing  them  how  to 


MINE    OF   LAYCACOTA.  197 

conduct  the  works  in  a  better  manner.  If 
proper  improvements  be  made,  the  produce 
may  become  at  least  double  in  its  value. 

"  We  may  mention  too  the  mine  of  Lay- 
cacota,  which  was  discovered  in  1660,  near 
the  town  of  Puna.  Here  the  virgin  silver  was 
in  such  abundance,  that  it  was  cut  out  with  a 
chisel.  The  proprietor  of  the  mine,  with 
a  liberality  rather  uncommon,  permitted  his 
countrymen,  who  came  from  Europe  to  seek 
their  fortunes,  to  work  in  it  a  certain  number 
of  days,  and  take  all  away  they  could  thus 
dig  out,  without  weighing  or  examination. 
This  generosity  brought  plenty  of  visitors, 
who  soon  began  quarrelling  with  each  other 
about  their  shares.  Disagreements  about  such 
valuable  spoils  brought  on  blows ;  they  armed 
themselves,  in  order  to  repress  their  neighbors 
avarice;  and,  in  the  end,  the  good-natured 


198  MINES    IN    PERU. 

Salcedo,  the  original  proprietor,  was  himself 
hanged  as  the  author  of  those  tumults;  al- 
though he  had  endeavored  all  he  could  to 
prevent  them. 

"Peru  is  said  Jo  contain  sixty-nine  mines 
of  gold,  and  seven  hundred  and  eighty-four 
mines  of  silver ;  all  of  which  are  wrought 
more  or  less." 


SILVER. 

MEXICO. 

THERE  are  silver  mines  in  Mexico,  as 
well  as  mines  of  gold.  Indeed,  silver,  al- 
though the  second  in  rank,  is  first  in  im- 
portance in  a  commercial  point  of  view,  on 
account  of  the  much  greater  quantity  obtained 
from  the  mines. 

Silver,  as  is  the  case  indeed  with  most  other 
metals,  is  found  in  a  variety  of  different  ores. 
It  is  sometimes  pure,  or  in  veins  which  pene- 
trate every  crevice  of  the  stony  rock  to  which 
it  adheres;  but,  more  frequently,  it  is  mixed 
with  other  matters,  which  must  be  separated 
from  it ;  so  that  its  first  appearance  varies 


200  MINES    IN   MEXICO. 

much,  as  it  is  ash-colored,  reddish,  bluish, 
often  black,  and  sometimes  in  pointed  forms, 
like  crystals. 

The  manner  of  refining  it  differs  but  little 
from  the  processes  used  with  gold;  except 
that  none  is  obtained  by  mere  washing,  though 
it  is  cleared  from  earthy  particles  with  water. 
The  workmen  depend  chiefly  upon  amalgamat- 
ing it  with  quicksilver :  but  in  this  case  there 
is  more  difficulty  than  with  the  gold;  as  the 
silver  clings  more  powerfully  to  the  mineral 
substances  with  which  it  is  united,  and  the 
process  requires  more  labor  and  care. 

The  mines  of  Spanish  America  are  wrought 
by  private  adventurers,  who  are.  encouraged 
to  the  work  by  grants  of  the  land  to  those 
who  suppose  they  have  made  a  discovery,  and 
are  willing  to  seek  wealth  in  this  mode ;  the 
governor  of  the  province  only  binding  them 


MINES   IN   MEXICO.  201 

to  begin  in  a  stipulated  time,  and  insuring  one 
fifth  of  the  produce  to  the  King.  There  are 
always  persons  bold  enough  for  such  an  under- 
taking, as  it  is  easy  to  make  the  experiment; 
and,  now  and  then,  vast  fortunes  are  realized 
by  such  speculations.  Indeed,  so  fascinated 
are  the  Spaniards,  who  go  over  from  Europe, 
by  this  silver  dream,  that  they  neglect  that 
more  certain  produce,  which  the  surface  of  the 
earth  yields  to  the  labors  of  the  agriculturist. 


SILVER. 

NORWAY. 

A  SILVER  mine  of  much  celebrity  is  found 
in  Norway,  at  Kongsberg,  in  the  province  of 
Aggerhuys,  not  a  great  way  from  Christiana, 
the  principal  seaport  of  that  country.  Kongs- 
berg, which  has  the  river  Lowe  running 
through  it,  may  contain  about  six  thousand 
inhabitants,  of  which  number  the  miners 
make  nearly  half :  the  mines  are  about  two 
miles  from  the  town.  There  are  almost  forty 
mines  in  work ;  and  the  principal  one  is  called 
Segen-Gottes.  This  is  nearly  seven  hundred 
feet  in  perpendicular  depth  below  the  surface 


MINES   OP    KONGSBERG.  203 

of  the  earth.  In  many  parts  of  the  descent,  a 
staircase  is  cut  in  the  solid  rock.  The  mouths 
of  the  mines  are  made  very  wide.  Working 
the  mine  is  very  laborious,  on  account  of  the 
hardness  of  the  rock ;  but  the  miners  are  not 
much  troubled  with  water  to  flood  the  works, 
which  is  a  great  advantage. 

Pounding  the  ore  is  one  sort  of  process 
in  use  here,  as  in  most  places.  It  is  also 
smelted  with  lead,  to  separate  it  from  extra- 
neous matters. 

Pure  silver  is  sometimes  found  in  feathery 
clusters,  or  foliage ;  but  chiefly  in  small  grains. 
Once,  indeed,  a  large  mass  was  found,  valued 
at  six  hundred  pounds,  as  pure  silver.  This, 
as  a  great  curiosity,  is  preserved  in  the  King 
of  Denmark's  cabinet,  at  Copenhagen. 

The  expenses  of  working  this  mine  amount 
to  as  much  as  the  silver  is  worth,  when 


204  "OLD   G-OD'S   BLESSING." 

brought  to  market;  so  that  the  government, 
at  whose  expense  it  is  conducted,  gains  little 
by  it.  The  chief  use  of  it  is,  to  find  employ- 
ment for  some  thousands  of  poor  people,  who 
otherwise  could  have  no  means  of  mainte- 
nance; and  to  bring  a  quantity  of  specie  into 
circulation,  as  that,  though  very  necessary,  is 
a  very  scarce  commodity;  commerce  being 
carried  on  chiefly  by  paper  notes. 

The  mine  was  discovered  in  1623;  a  town 
was  immediately  built,  and  a  colony  of  German 
miners  was  sent  thither.  There  are  twelve 
veins  and  forty  shafts.  Some  gold  has  been 
found  here  among  the  silver. 

One  of  these  mines  is  called  "  Old  God's 
Blessing ;"  this  is  still  very  rich.  With  some 
anxiety,  the  traveller  descends  above  a  thou- 
sand feet  deep  into  the  earth.  When  he 
arrives  there,  he  finds  a  space  cleared  out, 


"OLD    GOD'S   BLESSING."  205 

of  several  hundred  fathoms  in  extent.  In 
this  gloomy  cavern,  he  sees  fires  blazing  all 
around  him,  in  thirty  or  forty  different  places  ; 
these  fires  are  kept  up,  in  order  to  soften  the 
rock,  and  make  the  work  easier  to  the  miners. 
The  swarming  of  hundreds  of  miners,  black- 
ened with  the  smoke,  passing  about  on  every 
side,  adds  to  the  awfulness  of  the  scene,  and 
helps  to  give  it  so  much  the  more  resemblance 
to  what  imagination  had  formed  of  the  infernal 
regions.  This  becomes  heightened,  when  a 
mine  is  sprung,  to  blast  the  rock  with  gunpow- 
der; as  then  several  hoarse  voices  cry  out, 
"  Take  care  of  your  lives  !" 


SILVER. 

SWEDEN. 

IF  we  pass  into  Sweden,  in  search  of  silver, 
we  must  stop  at  Saalberg,  near  the  town  of 
Sala,  in  Westermannia.  This  is  the  only  one 
rich  enough  to  be  worthy  of  our  notice ;  and 
this  is  so  ancient,  that  no  records  tell  us  of  its 
discovery.  The  depth  of  the  mine  is  almost 
a  thousand  feet ;  there  are  some  landing  places, 
so  that  the  miners  do  not  descend  the  whole 
depth  at  once ;  which  is,  to  our  apprehension, 
so  much  the  better,  because  they  are  let 
up  and  down  in  baskets  in  two  considerable 
lengths  of  the  descent,  though  they  have 
ladders  in  a  few  places. 


THE    SCORIA    REFINED.  207 

The  inside  of  this  mine  is  very  grand;  the 
roof  looks  like  that  of  some  old  Gothic  cathe- 
dral, supported  by  slender  pillars  of  ore,  left  in 
regular  order.  The  brilliant  masses,  glittering 
all  around,  arouse  our  admiration.  The  ore 
seldom  yields  above  four  pounds  of  silver 
in  the  hundred  weight,  and  requires  much 
trouble  to  obtain  it. 

In  times  past,  the  scoria  was  thrown  away ; 
but  a  German  has  discovered  a  method  of 
extracting  silver  from  that  which  was  once 
thought  to  be  rubbish.  How  frequently  do 
we  see  the  improvidence  of  the  ignorant, 
while  the  man  of  knowledge  is  ready  to 
turn  almost  every  thing  to  account. 


SILVER. 

RUSSIA. 

RUSSIA  has  some  silver  mines ;  those  at 
Kolyvan  are  the  most  important.  These  are 
far  off,  in  Siberia,  in  mountains  adjacent  to 
Chinese  Tartary.  They  were  discovered  by 
Akinsi  Nikitich  Demidoff,  For  some  years,  he 
gave  out  that  they  were  copper  mines,  and 
worked  them  on  his  own  account.  Being 
afraid,  however,  of  being  discovered  and  pu- 
nished, (because  all  gold  and  silver  mines 
belong  to  the  crown,)  he  himself  gave  in  an 
account  of  them  to  the  Empress  Elizabeth, 
who  of  course  seized  upon  them,  as  her  own 
property.  There  is  but  little  wood  near 


PRODUCE    OF    THE   KOLYVAN   MINES.     209 

the  spot  ;  therefore,  smelting  works  have 
been  erected  at  Novopaulofsk  and  Susunsk, 
in  the  neighborhood  of  forests,  whither  the 
ore  is  transmitted,  to  be  smelted  and  pu- 
rified. 

These  mines  may  be  called  the  Potosi  of 
Russia.  They  produce  nearly  ten  thousand 
pounds  of  silver  annually.  When  this  silver 
comes  to  Petersburgh,  it  is  smelted  again, 
in  the  imperial  laboratory ;  and  it  yields  three 
per  cent,  of  gold.  So  that  in  the  annual  pro- 
duce of  silver,  there  are  twelve  or  fourteen 
hundred  pounds  of  pure  gold. 

The  mines  of  Kolyvan  employ  nearly  forty 
thousand  persons,  (without  reckoning  the  pea- 
sants of  the  adjoining  districts,  who  pay  their 
poll-tax  in  wood  and  charcoal,)  in  bringing 
these  materials  to  the  place,  and  in  trans- 

14  s 


210  MINES   OF   NERTCHINSK. 

porting  the  ore  to  the  smelting  towns.  A 
mint  is  established  at  Susunsk,  where  the 
coinage  of  the  copper  obtained  from  the 
same  mine  is  performed.  The  silver  pro- 
duced here  is  conveyed  to  Petersburgh  on 
large  sledges,  a  number  of  which,  under  con- 
voy, reach  that  capital  twice  in  the  year. 

Still  more  to  the  eastward,  in  the  province 
of  Dauria,  the  south-easternmost  part  of  Sibe- 
ria, between  the  rivers  Shilka  and  Argoon,  are 
the  mines  of  Nertchinsk :  these  were  opened 
in  1704.  The  annual  quantity  of  silver  pro- 
duced on  an  average,  is  about  sixteen  thousand 
pounds ;  besides  gold  amounting  to  five  hun- 
dred pounds,  which  is  obtained  from  it  when 
refined  a  second  time  at  Petersburgh. 

Silver  constitutes  a  large  portion  of  the 
money  of  all  civilized  nations.  But,  when 


MINES   OF   NERTCHINSK.  211 

used  in  coin  or  plate,  it  is  usually  mingled 
or  alloyed  with  a  small  quantity  of  copper. 
If  kept  in  proper  condition,  it  has  a  lustre 
of  great  beauty. 


LEAD. 

DERBYSHIKu;. 

THE  county  of  Derby  abounds  in  wonders, 
especially  about  the  Peak.  Curiosity,  rational 
curiosity,  may  have  a  feast,  whatever  be  the 
peculiar  taste  of  the  party.  Pleasure  and 
amusement  are  all  that  some  pursue ;  and 
if  these  can  be  made  subservient  to  the 
attainment  of  rational  knowledge,  it  is  well. 
Some  of  the  curiosities  are  in  situations  cal- 
culated to  alarm  the  visitor;  we  can  hardly 
recommend  the  young  and  the  feeble  to  en- 
counter the  hardships  and  danger  necessary 
to  the  sight  of  them.  It  is  well  for  such,  that 
travellers  of  more  strength  of  constitution,  and 


MAM   TOR.  213 

firmness  of  nerve,  have  been  there  before 
them. 

Mam  Tor,  or  the  Shivering  Mountain,  af- 
forded our  inquirers  much  amusement ;  as 
did  several  others  of  these  wonders  of  nature. 
But  the  present  object  of  our  inquiry  is,  the 
nature  and  appearance  of  mines. 

Mam  Tor  is  seen  at  a  distance,  towering 
above  its  neighboring  mountains,  and  rising 
to  the  height  of  thirteen  hundred  feet  above 
the  valley. 

Now  near  the  bottom  of  Mam  Tor,  is  a  very 
ancient  and  a  very  curious  lead  mine.  It 
seems  to  have  been  wrought  at  least  as  far 
back  as  the  time  of  the  Saxons,  for  it  bears  the 
name  of  Odin:  yet  it  affords  to  the  present 
day  employment  to  a  tolerable  number  of 
people. 

There  are  two   levels,  as  they  are  called: 


214      SINGULAR  PROPERTY   OP   THE   ORE. 

the  upper  one  is  a  passage  for  carts,  by  which 
the  ore  is  brought  out  of  the  mine ;  the  lower 
level  is  a  water  drain,  to  keep  the  mine  in  a 
proper  state  for  working.  These  levels  pene- 
trate above  a  mile  into  the  interior  of  the 
mountain,  running  horizontally. 

The  ore  is  of  the  sort  called  galena,  having 
a  fine  polish,  almost  equal  to  a  mirror;  it  is 
here  known  by  the  name  of  slickenside.  One 
of  its  great  peculiarities  is  its  aptitude  to  ex- 
plode :  when  a  sharp  iron  wedge  is  driven  into 
it,  it  begins  to  crackle ;  and  in  a  few  minutes 
it  will  burst  and  fly  to  pieces,  as  if  it  had  been 
blasted  with  gunpowder.  The  miners  must 
hastily  get  out  of  its  reach,  or  they  may  suffer 
for  their  temerity. 

In  the  mines  at  Eyam,  in  this  neighborhood, 
a  violent  explosion  of  this  nature  took  place  in 
the  year  1738.  Then  the  surprising  quantity 


SINGULAR   PROPERTY    OF   THE    ORE.     215 

of  seven  or  eight  hundred  weight  of  mineral 
matter  was  thrown  out  at  one  explosion.  The 
concussion  was  so  great,  that  the  upper  surface 
of  the  ground  was  seen  to  shake,  as  if  an 
earthquake  had  happened. 


LEAD. 

STAFFORDSHIRE. 

ONE  lead  mine  is  called  the  Staffordshire 
Speedwell,  the  entering  into  which  is  amusing. 
"  We  put  ourselves  under  the  guidance  of 
the  manager,  who  conducted  us,  through  an 
opening,  down  above  one  hundred  steps, 
formed  almost  perpendicularly.  At  the  bot- 
tom of  this  descent  was  a  river,  and  a  boat 
ready  for  us,  with  a  boatman  in  it.  Several 
lighted  candles  were  prepared,  and  each  of  us 
<ook  one.  The  river,  and  the  boat,  and  the 
rough  boatman,  thus  in  the  lower  regions,  put 
us  in  mind  of  the  ancient  heathen  fable  of  the 
river  Styx,  and  Charon,  the  ferryman.  The 


"SPEEDWELL"    LEAD    MINE.  217 

boat  was  presently  pushed  off;  the  man  giving 
it  an  impetus  by  the  help  of  sticks  stuck  in  the 
rock,  five  or  six  feet  asunder.  We  were  thus 
shoved  along  for  some  considerable  distance. 
Strange  were  the  sensations  occasioned  by 
our  thus  swimming  along  in  the  bowels  of 
the  mountain.  The  scene  was  certainly  sub- 
lime and  awful. 

"While  on  our  subterraneous  voyage,  we 
were  surprised  by  the  sound  of  a  sweet  voice, 
which  had  almost  a  magical  effect,  as  it  lost 
itself  among  the  arches  of  the  cavern's  roof. 
We  approached  nearer  to  it  as  we  went  on, 
and  found  a  fine  little  fellow,  of  about  twelve 
years  old,  placed  in  a  small  niche  of  the  rock, 
soothing  himself  in  his  monotonous  labor,  by 
singing.  His  business  was  to  work  a  pair  of 
bellows,  which,  by  a  long  pipe,  conveyed  fre?h 
air  to  the  deepest  recesses  of  the  mine.  He 
T 


218  CONVEYANCE   OF   FRESH   AIR. 

had  to  keep  at  his  station  for  eight  hours, 
working  and  singing.  We  passed  in  this 
manner  almost  half  a  mile;  and  at  the  end 
of  our  voyage,  found  the  miners  at  their  work. 

"There  are  several  veins  of  lead  among 
these  rocks.  The  rocks  are  first  split  by 
gunpowder;  and  the  broken  masses  are  then 
cleared  away. 

"When  we  came  to  the  extremity  of  the 
mine,  where  the  men  were  at  work,  we  found 
the  benefit  of  the  little  songster's  labors,  in 
sending  a  supply  of  fresh  air.  The  air  in  such 
a  long  cavern  becomes  thick,  and  damp,  and 
would  be  very  dangerous  to  the  miners;  but 
this  constant  renewal  of  it  by  a  pure  stream 
from  the  open  atmosphere,  keeps  it  whole- 


some." 


Mines   of   lead   exist  in  many   other  parts 
of  England,  as  Cornwall,    Staffordshire,  &c. 


LEAD  MINES  IN  SCOTLAND.      219 

There  are  also  lead  mines  in  Scotland, 
which  are  productive  and  lucrative. 

There  is,  however,  so  much  similarity  in 
them,  that  the  description  already  given  may 
well  suffice  for  all.  . 


LEAD. 

SIBERIA. 

AT  Nertchinsk,  in  the  south-eastern  part 
of  Siberia,  are  mines  belonging  to  Russia. 
They  have  been  spoken  of  as  producing 
silver;  but  have  much  better  right  to  be 
noticed  for  their  greater  productiveness  in 
lead.  Silver  and  lead  are  often  found  min- 
gled together;  but  the  ores  are  very  poor  in 
silver,  and  rich  in  lead.  The  silver  is  taken 
to  Petersburgh,  to  be  refined;  but  many 
million  hundred  weight  of  lead  are  left  on  the 
spot,  after  the  silver  has  been  extracted. 
About  five  or  six  thousand  hundred  weight 
of  this  is  taken  to  Kolyvan,  to  have  the 


MINES   AT   NERTCHINSK.  221 

remaining  silver  separated,  at  the  founderies: 
but  the  expense  of  carriage  prevents  the  bulk 
of  this  lead  being  transported  into  the  heart 
of  the  empire,  and  there  is  an  absolute  pro- 
hibition against  its  being  sent  to  China;  so 
it  remains  useless. 

The  persons  employed  in  these  mines, 
amount  in  number  to  almost  fifteen  thousand. 
Nearly  two  thousand  are  free  colonists ;  more 
than  one  thousand  are  convicts,  condemned 
to  this  work ;  nearly  twelve  thousand  are 
peasants  of  the  country  round  about;  em- 
ployed especially  in  cutting  wood,  and  in 
making  and  carrying  charcoal.  These  last 
also  cultivate  more  or  less  ground,  and  -  find 
a  ready  sale  for  the  produce  at  the  foun- 
deries. 

Lead  is  exceedingly  useful  for  pipes,  and 
for  a  variety  of  purposes,  as  it  is  easily 


222  UTILITY   OF   LEAD. 

melted.  It  is  used  also  as  a  covering  for  pub- 
lic buildings ;  and  sometimes,  though  rarely, 
as  ballast  for  ships,  on  account  of  its  weight 
It  is  eleven  times  heavier  than  water. 


QUICKSILVER. 

PERU. 

QUICKSILVER,  or,  as  in  mineralogy  it  is 
called,  Mercury,  is  of  great  use  in  extracting 
other  metals  from  their  ores,  as  well  as  very 
serviceable  in  itself.  It  has  a  great  affinity  to 
gold,  and  a  still  greater  to  silver :  without  the 
aid  of  this  mineral,  it  would  not  be  easy  to 
obtain  those  more  precious  commodities.  The 
silver  mines  of  Potosi  would  have  been  almost 
useless,  had  not  a  mine  of  quicksilver  been 
discovered  in  the  same  country. 

This  mine  is  situated  at  Guanza  Velica ;  it 
has  been  worked  almost  three  hundred  years, 


224     MODE   OF    OBTAINING    QUICKSILVER. 

and  does  not  seem  to  diminish  in  its  produc- 
tiveness. 

When  a  visitor  gets  fairly  into  the  mine, 
he  finds  a  subterraneous  city,  with  broad 
streets,  open  squares,  and  a  chapel,  in  which 
the  mysteries  of  the  Romish  religion  are  per- 
formed, especially  upon  high  days.  Thou- 
sands of  flambeaux  are  kept  continually 
burning,  to  give  light  to  these  otherwise 
gloomy  regions,  into  which  the  sun  has  never 
darted  a  ray. 

The  ore  in  which  the  quicksilver  is  con- 
tained is  earthy,  of  a  whitish  red  color,  looking 
like  burned  brick.  This  is  pounded  small.  It 
is  then  put  into  a  kiln,  somewhat  in  shape  like 
an  oven ;  the  bottom  consists  of  an  iron  grat- 
ing, covered  with  earth.  Under  this  a  gentle 
heat  is  kept  up,  with  an  herb  which  grows  in 


SUBLIMING    THE    MERCURY.  225 

that  part  of  the  country ;  and,  from  its  being 
deemed  the  most  suitable  fuel  for  this  busi- 
ness, the  cutting  of  it  for  other  purposes  is 
prohibited,  for  sixty  miles  around.  The  heat 
thus  communicated  to  the  pounded  ore,  sub- 
limes the  mercury ;  that  is,  makes  it  rise  with 
the  smoke,  which  can  only  pass  off  through  a 
very  small  hole,  connected  with  a  number  of 
retorts,  or  earthern  vessels  with  long  necks, 
each  having  a  little  water  in  its  lower  part. 
The  water  condenses  the  smoke,  and  the 
small  globules  of  quicksilver  which  had  come 
with  it,  fall  to  the  bottoms  of  the  retorts, 
where  it  is  easily  gathered  together,  into  one 
mass. 

This  mine  is  not  wrought  by  the  govern- 
ment, but  by  private  persons ;  who  are,  how- 
ever, hindered    from    gaining    such   profits    as 
might  be  expected,  because  they  are  obliged 
15 


226  MISERY    OF    THE    MINERS. 

to  sell  the  whole  produce  to  the  King,  at  a 
stated  price.  Besides  which,  when  the  go- 
vernment has  obtained  all  that  is  wanted  for 
the  mines,  the  work  is  suspended. 

There  is  no  mineral  product  so  noxious  to 
those  who  procure  it,  as  quicksilver.  The 
miners  suffer  dreadfully  from  tremors,  lan- 
guors, and  convulsions.  The  native  Indians 
are  obliged  to  labor  in  this  dangerous  occu- 
pation ;  and  these  poor  victims  of  avarice  and 
oppression  work  naked,  in  the  bowels  of  the 
earth,  where  it  is  exceedingly  cold.  It  is 
true,  their  services  are,  nominally,  for  only 
six  months ;  though  they  are  often  kept  lon- 
ger. But  many  do  not  live  to,  see  the  end 
of  this  period,  short  as  it  may  appear;  and 
such  as  survive  it,  are  reduced  to  so  lan- 
guid a  state,  that  they  seldom  return  to 
their  homes  and  connections,  but  settle  in 


MISERY    OF   THE   MINERS.  227 

the  neighborhood  of  the  mine,  and  become 
slaves  for  the  remainder  of  their  miserable 
lives. 


QUICKSILVER. 

IDRIA. 

THERE  is  also  in  Europe  a  mine  of  quick- 
silver, of  considerable  importance ;  it  is  situated 
at  Idria,  in  Carniola,  and  belongs  to  the  Empe- 
ror of  Austria.  We  may  take  our  account 
of  it  from  a  traveller,  who  visited  the  place. 
"Persons  condemned  for  certain  crimes  are 
sent  to  labor  in  these  mines ;  which  is  a  state 
of  prolonged  sufferings,  containing  many  daily 
deaths  in  one.  They  labor  in  darkness,  or, 
at  least,  far  from  the  light  of  the  sun,  toiling 
out  a  miserable  life,  under  the  whips  of  hard- 
hearted taskmasters.  The  entrance  is  in  the 


DESCRIPTION    OP    THE    MINE.  229 

side  of  the  mountain,  at  a  hole  about  fifteen 
feet  wide. 

"  The  conveyance  to  the  mine  below  is  in  a 
bucket,  to  a  depth  of  more  than  six  hundred 
feet.  The  opening  widens  as  you  descend ; 
but  becomes  more  and  more  gloomy  as  you 
leave  the  light.  After  a  pretty  long  swing  in 
this  manner,  you  touch  the  bottom ;  but  the 
ground  on  which  you  tread  sounds  hollow. 
The  sounds  of  your  own  feet  echo  among  the 
gloomy  caverns,  like  thunder.  Feeble  lamps 
are  placed  here  and  there,  just  sufficient  to 
guide  the  workmen.  But  a  person  just  de- 
scended from  the  surface,  is  not  able  to  see 
any  thing,  not  even  the  persons  who  come 
to  conduct  him  about  the  place. 

"The  inhabitants  of  these  gloomy  regions 
are  more  gloomy  still,  not  only  from  the  squalid 


230  CONVICT   MINERS. 

wretchedness  of  their  appearance,  but  from 
the  misery  which  their  whole  countenance 
exhibits.  They  would  look  pale  as  spectres, 
but  for  the  blackness  which  they  contract  in 
the  operations  of  the  mine.  Those  who  are 
condemned  hither,  are  malefactors ;  their  phy- 
siognomies may  therefore  be  expected  to  be 
unpleasing,  as  exhibiting  their  vices  strongly 
depicted.  Added  to  this,  dejection  and  ex- 
haustion mark  them.  They  soon  lose  their 
appetite;  and  the  most  robust  constitutions  sel- 
dom last  above  a  couple  of  years ;  then  death 
closes  their  melancholy  sufferings,  as  to  this 
world. 

"  These  mines  are  among  the  greatest  curio- 
sities in  the  country;  they  wrere  first  disco- 
vered in  1497.  It  would  take  several  hours  to 
go  through  all  the  passages,  which  have  been 
scooped  out  in  the  interior  of  the  mountain. 


VIRGIN   MERCURY.  231 

Two  of  the  shafts,  named  from  saints,  are  the 
principal  openings. 

"The  quantity  of  mercury  cleansed  from 
the  ore  may  amount  annually  to  about  two 
thousand  six  hundred  quintals.  But  much  is 
caught  as  it  oozes  out  of  the  crevices  of  the 
mine ;  this  is  called  virgin  mercury,  and  may 
amount  to  a  hundred  quintals,  each  quintal 
being  about  a  hundred  weight." 


QUICKSILVER. 

SPAIN. 

IN  the  province  of  La  Mancha,  in  Spain, 
famous  for  the  exploits  of  Don  Quixote,  and 
near  the  town  of  Almaden,  are  some  mines 
of  quicksilver,  of  considerable  importance, 
especially  to  the  Spaniards. 

From  them  they  obtain  mercury  in  great 
quantities,  by  which  they  work  their  American 
mines  of  gold  and  silver :  it  is  found  in  a  hill 
of  sandstone.  The  two  principal  veins  are 
situated  near  together;  and  there  is  a  third 
about  five  miles  distant.  They  are  worked 
on  behalf  of  the  King.  An  accident  hap- 
pened, in  1784,  which  let  the  water  into 


CINNABAR.  233 

the  mines,  and  flooded  them,  so  as  to  put 
a  total  stop  to  the  works ;  and  Spain  was 
obliged  to  obtain  quicksilver  from  the  Austrian 
mines,  for  six  years,  at  the  rate  of  three 
hundred  tons  weight  annually. 

The  mercury  is  here  found,  partly  in  a 
native  state;  they  have  only  to  catch  it,  and 
carefully  gather  the  drops. 

But  it  is  chiefly  obtained  in  the  form  of 
cinnabar,  which  is  a  common  ore  of  mercury; 
it  seems  to  be  mercury  petrified  and  fixed 
with  sulphur,  from  which  it  is  freed  by  heat. 
One  pound  of  cinnabar  will  frequently  yield 
fourteen  ounces  of  mercury,  though  sometimes 
not  above  ten.  These  mines  of  Almaden  pro- 
duce cinnabar  of  the  richest  quality. 

Mines  of  cinnabar  exist  in  other  parts  of 
Spain ;  one  near  Alicant,  and  another  near 
Valencia;  but  they  are  not  wrought.  Near 
U 


234  FROZEN    QUICKSILVER. 

the  latter  place,  too,  virgin  mercury  is  found, 
in  a  bed  of  ash  colored  clay. 

Though  quicksilver  is  always  in  a  fluid  state 
in  our  country,  it  is  not  unfreqently  frozen  in 
Russia,  and  in  other  cold  climates.  It  is  the 
principal  metal  used  in  manufacturing  a  very 
common,  but  very  useful  article — the  looking- 
glass. 


SUNDRIES. 

ALTHOUGH  the  principal  mines  and  mineral 
substances  have  been  thus  fully  noticed,  yet  it 
may  be  proper  to  say,  there  are  many  other 
mines,  whence  these  commodities  are  ob- 
tained; but  the  description  of  them  would 
be  so  similar  to  those  already  given,  that 
it  would  be  impossible  to  avoid  tedious  repeti- 
tions. All  that  is  needful  for  the  amusement 
and  instruction  of  the  young,  has  been  here 
selected. 

It  may,  however,  be  proper  to  name  a  few 
other  substances,  such  as  are  of  frequent 
occurrence,  in  order  to  render  this  volume 
worthy  of  its  pretensions. 


236  SULPHUR.— BLACKLE  AD. 

SULPHUR  is  a  substance  of  extreme  utility, 
in  arts,  manufactures,  and  medicine.  It  is 
found  native,  in  nodules,  in  layers,  or  in  crys- 
tals. Considerable  mines  of  it  are  met  with 
in  Hungary,  Poland,  Spain,  Switzerland,  and 
Sicily. 

It  is  also  sublimed  by  volcanoes,  and  is 
collected  from  among  the  lava;  in  Italy,  near 
Vesuvius ;  also  near  JEtna,  in  Sicily ;  near 
Mount  Hecla,  in  Iceland;  and  in  several  of 
the  West-India  islands.  It  is  most  commonly 
sold  in  the  form  of  a  yellow  powder ;  but  often 
in  solid  pieces,  when  it  is  called  brimstone; 
and  is  an  important  branch  of  commerce, 
wherever  it  is  found  in  any  quantity.  It  is 
used  in  bleaching  and  dyeing,  in  the  manu- 
facture of  gunpowder,  and  in  medicine. 

PLUMBAGO,  commonly  called  blacklead,  of 
which  pencils  are  made,  so  excellent  for  draw- 


FULLERS'    EARTH.  237 

ing,  is  a  very  peculiar  mineral.  It  is  found 
in  several  countries,  but  best  of  all  in  Eng- 
land. A  considerable  mine  of  it  is  in  Cum- 
berland, at  Borrowdale,  where  it  is  found  in 
detached  masses.  This  mine  is  opened  but 
once  in  seven  years ;  and  after  a  certain  quan- 
tity has  been  taken  out,  it  is  carefully  shut  up 


again. 


For  usefulness  we  may  mention  FULLERS' 
EARTH.  It  is  to  this  substance  that  England 
owes  much  of  the  superiority  of  her  woollen 
fabrics.  Nothing  else  so  well  absorbs  all  the 
greasiness  which  attaches  to  wool,  either  in  its 
natural  state,  or  in  the  manufactimng  of  it.  A 
soft  smooth  pliancy  is  hereby  given  to  our 
woollen  draperies.  A  similar  earth  is  found  in 
Sweden,  Saxony,  and  France;  but  the  best, 
beyond  compare,  is  in  England,  especially  in 


238  FULLERS'    EARTH. 

Hampshire,  where  there  is  a  large  and  valua- 
ble  bed. 

Many  ores  of  other  metallic  substances  are 
found  along  with  the  principal  ores,  of  which 
we  have  already  treated :  but,  whatever  might 
be  their  importance  in  a  system  of  mineralogy, 
there  is  not  sufficient  difference  in  their  situa- 
tions in  the  interior  of  the  earth,  to  warrant  a 
specific  description  here. 


MINES    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

IN  our  introduction  to  this  little  volume, 
we  proposed  to  insert,  in  the  course  of  the 
work,  a  chapter  on  the  most  important  mine- 
rals found  in  the  United  States.  This  we 
shall  do  in  this  place. 

Although  the  United  States  cannot  boast 
of  her  diamonds,  nor  her  mines  of  silver,  cop- 
per, quicksilver,  or  tin,  yet  she  abounds  in 
those  articles  most  necessary  to  the  comfort 
of  man,  salt,  coal,  and  iron.  Gold,  also,  is 
found  in  some  parts  of  the  country.  Besides 
which,  we  have  lead  in  great  abundance, 
and  localities  of  zinc,  manganese,  and  other 
minerals.  As  yet,  the  country  has  been  but 


240  SALT. 

partially   explored.     The  future  will  probably 
disclose  inexhaustible   mineral   treasures. 

Of  mineral  salt,  we  have  no  mines  com- 
parable to  those  of  Cheshire,  in  England,  or 
Wielitska,  in  Poland.  Yet  it  can  scarcely  be 
doubted  that  salt  will  ultimately  be  found  in 
abundance  in  our  western  country,  in  many 
places  of  which  specimens  of  crystalized  salt 
have  been  discovered.  In  the  territory  of 
Arkansaw  is  a  prairie,  which  is  covered  for 
many  miles  with  pure  white  crystalized  salt, 
from  four  to  six  inches  deep.  At  present, 
the  states  on  the  seaboard  are  chiefly  sup- 
plied with  salt  from  foreign  countries.  The 
western,  and  a  part  of  the  middle  .states,  obtain 
much  of  their  salt  from  salt  springs,  which 
abound  in  various  parts.  The  most  noted  of 
these  springs  are  those  of  Onondaga,  near 
the  lake  of  that  name,  in  New-York.  Salt 


SALT   WORKS   OF    SALINA.  241 

works  are  established  in  several  places  in  the 
ticinity.  The  most  noted  are  those  of  Salina. 
The  works  principally  used  in  the  manufacture 
of  salt  are  denominated  blocks,  solar  works, 
and  steam  works.  The  blocks  are  constructed 
with  boilers,  containing  from  eighty  to  a  hun- 
dred gallons  each.  In  these  boilers  the  brine 
is  boiled  away.  The  solar  works  consist  of 
wooden  vats,  resting  upon  small  posts  driven 
into  the  ground.  The  width  of  the  vats  is 
eighteen  inches — depth  from  six  to  fifteen 
inches,  and  length  from  eighty  to  six  hundred 
and  forty  feet.  In  these  the  brine  is  eva- 
porated by  means  of  the  sun.  The  solar 
establishments  at  Syracuse  occupy  one  hun- 
dred and  ten  acres.  The  aggregate  length 
of  the  vats  is  thirteen  miles,  and  their  surface 
one  million  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
square  feet.  The  steam  wrorks  are  similar  in 
16  v 


242  SALT    SPRINGS. 

their  construction  to  the  blocks.  The  quantity 
of  salt  made  in  1832,  was  one  million  six  hun- 
dred and  fifty  two  thousand  nine  hundred  and 
eighty-five  bushels.  This  is  packed  in  barrels 
of  five  bushels  each. 

In  the  western  part  of  Pennsylvania,  also, 
are  large  manufactures  of  salt  from  springs. 
The  principal  salt  works  are  on  the  Cone- 
maugh,  a  stream  running  into  the  Alleghany. 
The  water  is  obtained  by  boring.  The 
strongest  water  is  found  four  hundred  or  five 
hundred  feet  below  the  surface.  The  salt 
manufactured  in  this  vicinity  has,  in  some 
years,  amounted  to  three  hundred  thousand 
bushels. 

Considerable  salt  is  made  near  Pittsburg, 
from  a  fountain  obtained  by  boring  two  hun- 
dred and  seventy  feet.  About  twenty-five 
thousand  bushels  are  here  manufactured. 


COAL.  243 

I  shall  next  speak  of  coal  Beds  of  fine 
coal  have  been  already  found  in  various  parts 
of  the  United  States.  There  exist,  doubtless, 
inexhaustible  quantities  of  it,  which  future  in- 
vestigations will  disclose.  Extensive  beds 
have  been  opened  in  Rhode  Island,  but  since 
the  more  valuable  mines  of  Pennsylvania  have 
been  discovered,  those  of  the  former  state 
have  been  in  less  estimation. 

In  no  part  of  the  world  is  anthracite,  or 
stone  coal,  more  abundant  than  in  Pennsylva- 
nia. Ages  probably  cannot  exhaust  it,  as  it 
seems  to  spread  over  very  extensive  tracts 
of  country.  It  abounds  in  the  Wyoming  and 
Lackawanna  valley,  between  the  Blue  Ridge 
and  the  Susquehanna.  Extensive  veins  range 
from  the  Lehigh  to  the  Susquehanna,  cross- 
ing the  headwaters  of  the  Schuylkill  and 
Swatara  about  ten  miles  north-west  of  the 


244  COAL. 

Blue  Ridge.  It  is  abundant  near  the  Susque- 
hanna  and  Lackawanna,  but  in  no  part  is  it 
so  plentiful  as  at  Maunch  Chunk,  (or  Bear 
mountain,)  a  village  on  the  Lehigh,  which  is 
itself  a  branch  of  the  Susquehanna.  Our  little 
readers  must  take  a  map  of  the  United  States, 
and  look  out  these  places  upon  it.  This  will 
serve  to  fasten  the  subject  in  their  memories. 

The  coal  lies  in  beds,  and  not,  as  commonly, 
in  veins.  These  beds  are  of  various  thick- 
nesses, from  a  foot  to  twenty-seven  feet.  Few 
are  wrought  unless  they  are  six  feet  thick. 

In  the  western  parts  of  Pennsylvania,  ano- 
ther kind  of  coal  called  bitumen,  or  pitchy  coal, 
abounds.  It  is  found  near  the  rivers  Cone- 
maugh,  Alleghany,  Monongahela,  and  Ohio. 
The  veins  are  generally  narrow,  rarely  above 
six  feet  in  width.  The  coal  is  abundant,  and 
of  excellent  quality,  near  Pittsburg. 


LEAD.  — IRON.  — COPPER.         245 

The  United  States  are  rich  in  ores  of  lead. 
But  I  shall  not  detain  my  readers  longer  than 
to  tell  them  of  the  mines  of  Missouri,  which 
are  some  of  the  most  extensive  and  richest  in 
the  world.  The  district  in  which  these  mines 
exist,  and  over  which  they  spread,  is  one  hun- 
dred miles  in  length,  and  forty  in  width.  It 
lies  north  of  Missouri  river,  in  the  county  of 
Washington,  and  the  neighborhood.  In  1828 
there  were  about  fifty  mines,  or  diggings,  in 
operation,  which  produce  annually  three  mil- 
lion pounds  of  lead. 

IRON.  It  would  be  quite  a  task  to  enume- 
rate the  various  ores  of  iron  which  are  found, 
or  where  they  are  worked,  in  the  United 
States.  Every  state  has  an  abundance,  and 
the  quantity  annually  extracted  might  be  in- 
creased many  fold. 

COPPER,  likewise,  no  doubt  exists  in  abun- 


246  COPPER. --GOLD. 

dance  among  us,  although,  as  yet,  we  have  not 
been  very  successful  in  finding  it  in  any  exten- 
sive beds.  During  the  revolutionary  war,  the 
Lodi  copper  mine,  as  it  is  called,  on  the  Pas- 
saic  river,  in  New -Jersey,  was  worked  by  the 
British.  Since  that,  a  new  vein  of  ore  has 
been  discovered,  producing  masses  which  have 
yielded  seventy-eight  per  cent,  of  the  metal. 
Small  quantities  of  silver  are  contained  among 
the  copper. 

Copper  is  thought  to  exist  abundantly  in 
some  of  the  north-western  states.  On  the 
banks  of  the  Onontagon,  a  stream  falling  into 
lake  Superior,  large  masses  of  native  copper 
have  been  discovered,  one  of  which  weighed 
two  thousand  two  hundred  pounds. 

GOLD.  The  first  notice  of  gold  of  the 
United  States,  on  the  records  of  the  mint, 
was  in  1814.  From  that  year  to  1823,  the 


GOLD.  247 

amount  annually  coined  did  not  exceed  two 
thousand  five  hundred  dollars.  In  later  years, 
gold  mines  have  been  discovered  in  Virginia, 
North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  and  Georgia. 
Those  of  North  Carolina  are  the  most  impor- 
tant. The  region  containing  the  gold  em- 
braces, in  this  latter  state,  an  extent  of  one 
thousand  square  miles,  and  reaches  from  Vir- 
ginia, across  the  centre  of  the  state,  to  South 
Carolina;  continuing  through  the  latter  state, 
and  Georgia,  into  Alabama.  In  some  parts, 
the  gold  is  obtained  by  mining,  and  in  others 
by  washing  the  sand  and  gravel.  The  veins 
of  ore  are  sometimes  several  feet  in  width,  and 
sometimes  only  a  few  inches.  The  mines  are 
not  sunk  very  deep,  but  the  horizontal  galle- 
ries are  extensive.  There  are  a  great  number 
of  mills  for  grinding  the  ore,  driven  by  steam 
and  water.  The  mines  in  this  state  occupy 


248  PURE    GOLD. 

above  twenty  thousand  men.  Those  em- 
ployed in  washing  collect  the  soil  in  deep  gul- 
lies and  beds  of  what  appear  to  have  been 
rivers  and  creeks.  Here  the  gold  occurs  pure, 
and  in  small  particles,  seldom  exceeding  in 
size  the  head  of  a  pin.  Sometimes  much 
larger  pieces  are  found,  and  in  a  single  instance 
a  lump  was  obtained,  weighing  in  its  crude 
state,  twenty-eight  pounds  avoirdupois.  The 
amount  annually  furnished  by  the  mines,  is 
estimated  at  two  million  five  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars.  Most  of  this  is  sent  to  Europe. 
The  greater  part  of  the  laborers  are  foreigners, 
who  come  from  almost  every  quarter  of  the 
world;  there  are  thirteen  different  languages 
spoken  at  the  mines. 


THE    MINE. 

BEAUTEOUS  is  the  landscape,  as,  from  any 
gentle  eminence,  we  cast  our  eyes  over  hill 
and  dale,  dark  woods,  and  golden  harvest 
fields ;  the  meandering  river  or  the  close  glen. 
Nay,  the  wide  sea,  monotonous  as  it  is,  fills 
the  mind  with  sublime  delight ;  we  linger  at 
the  prospect,  and  are  almost  unwilling  to 
return  to  the  gay  meadow,  the  close  hop- 
ground,  or  the  harvest  home. 

It  was  not  long,  we  may  suppose,  before 
man  perceived,  that,  besides  the  immense  and 
richly  valuable  products  of  the  surface,  there 
were  treasures  also  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth : 
for,  so  early  as  long  before  the  general  deluge, 


250  ANTIQUITY   OP   MINING. 

we  find  metallurgy  was,  to  some  efficient  de- 
gree, understood.  Tubalcain,  the  son  of  La- 
mech,  was  an  instructer  of  every  artificer  in 
brass  and  iron,  Gen.  iv.  22. 

That  the  ancients  understood,  in  some  tole- 
rable degree,  the  art  of  mining,  is  evident 
from  the  metals  with  which  they  were  fami- 
liar. And,  though  gold  might  be  obtained, 
as  it  is  most  frequently  now,  from  the  sands 
of  rivers,  yet  copper  for  brass,  (if  their  brass 
were  not  really  copper  itself,)  must  have  been 
dug  from  the  interior  of  the  earth. 

The  Phoenicians,  we  know,  traded  for  tin, 
even  as  far  as  Cornwall;  where  they  either 
found  or  established  regular  mines. 

The  Romans  found  gold  mines  in  Spain,  and 
obliged  the  natives  to  dig  out  the  precious 
metal  for  their  tyrannical  masters. 

In  modern  times,  mining  is  not  only  a  con- 


STRUCTURE    OF    THE   EARTH.  251 

stant  operation,  but,  by  the  joint  assistance  of 
geometry,  mechanics,  and  chemistry,  it  is  car- 
ried on  in  a  higher  degree  as  to  science,  and 
upon  a  wider  scale  as  to  commerce,  than  ever 
was  possible  to  the  ancients. 

In  order  to  conceive  accurately  of  a  mine, 
one  should  be  aware  of  the  general  structure 
of  the  shell  of  our  terraqueous  globe ;  for  it  is 
only  a  little  way  into  the  shell,  that  man  has 
ever  been  able  to  penetrate.  The  deepest 
mines  are  not  so  deep  in  proportion,  as  if 
the  paper  of  a  twelve  inch  globe  were  to 
be  excavated  and  undermined  by  some  mi- 
nute insect. 

Since  philosophic  men  have  given  due  con- 
sideration to  the  structure  of  the  earth,  so  as 
to  form  geology  into  a  science,  it  is  perceived 
that  the  surface,  if  it  may  be  so  called,  to  as 
great  a  depth  as  man*  has  been  able  to  pene- 


252  MINERALOGICAL    STRATA. 

trate,  is  composed  of  layers,  or  strata,  of  dif- 
ferent substances,  placed  one  over  another. 
Each  stratum  is  distinct,  as  well  from  those 
above,  as  from  those  below  it.  These  different 
strata  consist  of  mould,  sand,  clay,  marl,  chalk, 
stones,  rocks,  &c.  In  general,  the  heaviest 
lie  lowest,  as  if  the  whole  had  been  once 
mixed  together  with  some  liquid,  and  the 
ingredients  had  settled  by  their  specific  gra- 
vities ;  yet  sometimes;  lighter  strata  are  found 
far  beneath  the  heaviest. 

They  do  not  appear  in  any  settled  order, 
as  in  the  list  of  terms  just  given;  but  are 
found,  some  in  one  country,  and  others,  of 
quite  different  characters,  in  other  parts  ; 
evidently  proving  that  the  structure  of  our 
earth  has  suffered  by  some  overpowering 
force,  which  has  disjoined  and  dislocated  the 
various  strata;  turning  them  from  their  hori- 


STRATA  OF  THE  SHELL  OF  THE    EARTH. 


254  FISSURES    IN    THE    EARTH. 

zontal  position,  throwing  some  into  a  slanting 
direction,  or  making  them  J«/>,  as  geologists 
call  it,  and  casting  up  others  out  of  their 
primitive  place.  To  the  universal  deluge, 
when  "the  fountains  of  the  great  deep  were 
broken  up,"  is  this  disjunction  of  the  sup- 
posed original  uniformity  of  the  terrene  sur- 
face generally  attributed. 

These  convulsions  and  dislocations  have 
occasioned  many  cracks  and  fissures  in  a 
vertical  direction,  more  or  less  wide,  and 
more  or  less  deep.  It  is  usually  in  such 
fissures,  among  the  rocky  strata,  by  miners 
called  lodes,  that  metallic  mines  are  found. 
It  is  also  most  common  that  these  mines  are 
situated  in  mountains ;  at  least,  when  so  situ- 
ated, they  are  most  easily  come  at  by  man's 
feeble  powers. 

The   inside  of   these  fissures  is  commonly 


METALLIC    VEINS.  255 

coated  with  a  sort  of  rind,  crystalline  and 
earthy,  which  is  called  the  capel,  or  wall. 
This  seems  to  originate  from  the  moisture 
oozing  through  the  stratum,  and  coagulating 
on  the  mineral  substances.  Yet  these  regu- 
lar walls  are  seldom  found  but  at  some 
fathoms'  depth. 

Veins  of  metallic  ore  are  often  found  in 
lodes,  not  an  inch  wide.  Yet  these,  if  fol- 
lowed, frequently  become  very  rich,  and  re- 
ward the  miner's  fatigue  and  expense,  in 
clearing  his  way ;  although,  at  first,  it  migjit 
be  very  unprofitable. 

That  there  must  be  considerable  danger  in 
digging  thus  deep  into  the  recesses  of  the 
earth,  may  easily  be  supposed.  One  would 
think  man  was  never  intended  to  run  long 
passages  into  the  ground,  like  a  mole.  Yet 
the  substances  found  there  are  not  useful  to 


256  FOUL   AIR    OF   MI.NES 

any  but  to  him ;  and  some  of  them,  as  coal 
and  salt,  not  to  mention  iron,  are  of  prime 
necessity;  he  would  be  uncomfortable  without 
them,  especially  in  climates  far  removed  from 
the  equator. 

Descending  deep  into  a  mine,  generally 
gives  the  sensation  of  chill;  sometimes  there 
is  absolute  ice  :  but  on  passing  into  still 
greater  depths,  the  earth  seems  to  become 
warmer,  so  that  in  some  places  the  miners 
can  scarcely  bear  any  clothing. 

JTie  want  of  pure  atmospheric  air,  in  those 
far  distant  corners  of  the  mine,  is  a  great  in- 
convenience, and  tends  to  destroy  life.  Air 
is  sometimes  conveyed  by  a  pipe,  the  mouth 
of  which  is  on  the  surface,  and  set  open 
towards  the  wind;  or  by  bellows  in  a  simi- 
lar way. 

But   the   impurities   which  load   the   air  in 


METALLIC    VAPORS.  257 

those  deep  recesses  are  among  the  most  dan- 
gerous of  the  circumstances  which  the  miner 
has  to  guard  against. 

The  vapors  arising  from  many  of  the  metals 
are  very  injurious  to  health ;  the  pale  and  sal- 
low complexion  of  most  miners  indicates  this. 
Coal  mines  are  not,  in  general,  so  noxious 
as  those  of  tin;  those  of  copper  are  still 
worse ;  but  the  most  detrimental  to  health 
are  the  mines  of  quicksilver.  This  injurious 
substance  insinuates  itself  into  the  very  flesh 
and  bones  of  the  miners ;  carries  off  many 
quickly,  or  fills  the  hospitals  with  cases  of 
extreme  debility  and  suffering.  As  cinnabar, 
vitriol,  bitumen,  and  arsenic,  are  most  com- 
monly found  mingled  in  these  mines,  it  may 
rvell  be  supposed  that  the  effluvia  from  these 
substances  must  be  extremely  injurious.  Fre- 
quently, these  vapors  are  perceived  by  a 
17  w 


"258  THE    CHOKE-DAMP. 

fragrant  smell,  resembling  the  scent  of  pea 
blossoms;  this  name  is,  therefore,  applied  to 
it,  and  by  it  the  miners  have  warning  to 
escape  for  their  lives.  Such  as  are  caught 
by  it  swoon  away;  and,  if  removed  to  fresh 
air,  only  revive  under  great  agonies. 

Carbonic  acid  gas,  called  by  miners  the 
choke-damp,  is  found  abundantly  in  most  places 
that  have  been  long  shut  up ;  such  as  cellars, 
wells,  and  especially  mines.  This  cannot  be 
breathed  without  instantaneous  suffocation. 
Even  vats  in  breweries  are  liable  to  it;  and 
the  loss  of  many  lives  has  been  the  conse- 
quence. Charcoal  fires  emit  it ;  as  many 
have  found,  who  have  slept  in  rooms  which 
have  been  aired  with  that  material. 

This  damp,  or  fixed  air,  is  very  heavy,  and 
sinks  to  the  bottom  of  every  reservoir  wherein 
it  exists.  In  a  coal  mine,  in  Scotland,  some 


THE    FIRE-DAMP.  259 

*• 

miners  accidentally  broke  a  hole  into  an  old 
mine  which  had  been  long  shut  up ;  they  soon 
perceived  their  danger,  and  escaped  with  the 
utmost  expedition.  The  next  day,  eight  of 
them  went  to  continue  their  work,  without 
any  expectation  of  danger.  They  had,  how- 
ever, scarcely  got  to  the  bottom  of  the 
stairs,  which  led  to  their  scene  of  opera- 
tion, than  they  all  dropped  down  dead,  as 
if  they  had  been  shot.  The  wife  of  one  of 
them,  on  being  told  her  husband  had  been 
suffocated,  in  her  anxiety,  ventured  down  to 
discern  where  he  lay.  She  saw  he  was  near- 
est to  the  stairs  of  any  of  them ;  and,  wish- 
ing to  rescue  him,  if  possible,  she  stooped  to 
take  hold  of  him ;  but  the  damp  seized  her 
instantly,  and  she  fell  dead  by  his  side. 

The  fire-damp,  or  hydrogen  gas,   is  lighter 
than    the    atmosphere,   and    always   rises    to 


260  .  THE   FIRE-DAMP. 

the  roof  of  the  mine.  If  it  gain  access  to  a 
candle,  it  instantly  ignites,  with  a  loud  and 
very  violent  explosion.  Persons  involved  in 
it,  are  scorched  more  or  Jess.  The  violence 
of  the  explosion  is  such,  that  persons  who 
happen  to  be  in  its  way  in  the  mine,  are 
blown  out  of  it,  to  some  distance ;  nor  can 
the  strongest  and  heaviest  machinery  resist 
its  force.  No  smell  is  perceived  before  it 
catches  fire;  but  a  strong  scent  of  sulphur 
follows.  The  color  of  the  flame  is  bluish,  or 
greenish ;  and  it  is  very  brilliant.  It  is  suc- 
ceeded by  a  dark  vapor,  or  smoke.  These 
damps  begin  to  arise  about  May,  and  continue 
during  the  summer,  at  uncertain  intervals. 

In  mines  liable  to  the  fire-damp,  one  mode 
of  prevention  is,  never  to  bring  the  flame  of  a 
candle  into  them.  In  order,  therefore,  to  ob- 
tain light  without  flame,  with  great  ingenuity, 


SIR    H.    DAVY'S    LAMP.  261 

a  large  wheel  is  constructed,  having  its  edge 
stuck  full  of  flints ;  in  their  way,  a  number 
of  steels  are  placed,  so  that,  as  it  revolves, 
a  continued  stream  of  sparks  is  produced; 
by  which  glimmering  light,  the  miners  are 
able  to  carry  on  their  operations.  Sparks 
will  not  set  this  vapor  on  fire.  Lately,  in- 
deed, Sir  H.  Davy  has  invented  a  lamp, 
which  promises  to  afford  great  security.  It 
has  been  found  that  the  dense  vapor  cannot 
penetrate  between  the  narrow  crevices  of  a 
fine  wire  gauze :  this  is,  therefore,  formed 
into  a  lantern,  and  gives  safety. 

That  mode  of  safety  which  consists  in  hav- 
ing a  stream  of  sparks  instead  of  a  flame, 
would  be  of  no  use  in  some  cases ;  where  a 
spark  would  set  the  whole  on  fire.  The 
workmen  in  such  mines  are  so  much  afraid 
of  this,  that  they  take  all  the  nails  out  of 


262  BEGINNINGS   OP   MINING. 

their  shoes,  lest  some  spark  might  be  acci- 
dentally generated. 

The  history  of  mining  also  affords  melan- 
choly instances  of  mischief  done  by  the  falling 
in  of  the  earth  above;  when  it  has  not  been 
well  supported.  This  may  sometimes  be 
guarded  against  by  thick  planks,  supported  as 
a  ceiling,  upon  props. 

Again,  floods  of  water  sometimes  burst  in 
upon  the  men,  and  drown  them ;  perhaps, 
also,  drown  the  mine  itself,  so  that  it  cannot 
be  used  any  more. 

That  men  should  think  of  digging  into  the 
earth  for  such  minerals,,  seems  somewhat  sin- 
gular: yet,  possibly,  accident,  under  the  gui- 
dance of  Divine  Providence,  might  occasion  at 
least  the  first  endeavor  of  this  nature.  An- 
cient stories  tell  us,  that  some  Spanish  shep- 
herds having  set  fijre  to  a  wood,  the  confla- 


IMPROVEMENTS    IN    MINING.  263 

gration  heated  the  soil  so  much,  as  to  melt 
the  silver  under  it,  and  make  it  run  into  a 
mass.  Sometimes  the  sea  has  washed  away 
the  earthy  parts  of  the  shore,  so  as  to  throw 
daylight  upon  these  treasures. 

When  men  once  became  acquainted  with 
these  important  mineral  productions,  they 
would  naturally  look  again,  and  hunt  in  every 
place  where  there  could  be  any  hope  of  find- 
ing them.  And,  as  they  became  better  ac- 
quainted with  the  principles  of  chemistry,  they 
became  more  adroit  in  turning  to  account  all 
they  found,  and  all  they  suspected  to  be  of 
value.  There  is  a  sagacity,  obtained  only  by 
being  long  accustomed  to  the  practice,  which 
enables  some  to  say,  with  tolerable  certainty, 
where  the  precious  productions  may  be  sought. 
Certain  metals  are  usually  found  in  such  or 


264  IMPROVEMENTS    IN    MINING. 

such  kinds  of  soil,  and  never  in  others ;  which 
experience  establishes  as  a  rule. 

The  vicinity  of  copper  ore  is  frequently  as- 
certained by  the  harsh  taste  of  the  waters 
which  flow  near  them.  Or,  if  a  piece  of 
polished  iron  be  immersed,  where  the  parti- 
cles of  copper  are  floating,  they  will  affix 
themselves  to  it  decidedly.  Or,  a  piece  of 
tallow,  put  in,  will  in  a  short  time  become 
green. 

Sometimes,  in  driving  an  adit,  or  road,  from 
the  lower  grounds,  to  let  off  water  from  the 
mines,  lodes  are  met  with  much  more  valuable 
than  the  one  intended  to  be  relieved. 


THE    MINERAL    CABINET. 

WHEN  "Yes,"  and  "No,"  and  "O  dear, 
how  pretty  I"  are  all  the  effect  produced  by 
instruction,  there  is  reason  to  fear  that  the 
labor  and  expense  bestowed  upon  the  lesson 
is  nearly  lost.  It  may,  indeed,  happen,  that 
the  memory  may  be  roused,  years  afterwards, 
to  recollect  circumstances,  facts,  and  reason- 
ings, which  occurred  in  childhood;  although, 
apparently,  they  did  not  then  make  the  deep 
:mpression  wished  for  by  the  anxious  tutor. 

When,  however,  we  see  the  pupil's  own 
mind  roused  to  action,  and  that  he  is  diligently 
employing  himself  in  some  project,  or  some 
operation,  suggested  by  the  instruction  re- 

X  265 


266        THE  MINERAL  CABINET. 

ceived,  and  of  a  nature  to  clear  the  subject 
up  to  his  own  mind,  or  to  fasten  it  well  in 
his  memory,  we  are  sure  he  has  received 
benefit. 

It  was,  therefore,  with  considerable  pleasure 
that  Mr.  Thompson,  some  time  after  their 
return,  was  introduced  by  James  into  his  own 
study,  (a  closet  a  few  feet  square  only,)  to  in- 
spect a  mineralogical  cabinet,  which  he  had 
constructed.  It  was  about  two  feet  high,  and 
about  twelve  inches  wide;  its  depth  was  one 
inch  and  a  half.  James  had  been  accustomed 
to  operate  for  himself;  he  could  handle  the 
saw  and  the  plane  adroitly,  and  make  a  joint 
with  considerable  neatness.  The  framework 
was  mahogany.  At  the  top  was  a  pediment, 
in  which  was  written  MINERALOGY;  beneath, 
were  four  compartments  of  bottles,  answering 
to  the  four  classes  into  which  mineral  substan- 


THE    MINERAL    CABINET.  267 

ces  are  conveniently  divided ;  as  Earth  and 
Stones, — Salts, —  Combustibles, — and  Metallic 
Ores.  Each  of  these  formed  a  row,  whether 
consisting  of  many  or  fewer  names ;  except 
that  the  last  class,  being  more  numerous, 
filled  up  three  rows. 

He  had  procured  a  sufficient  number  of 
wide-mouth  square  vials,  all  of  a  size,  in  which 
he  proposed  to  keep  his  specimens.  Some 
minerals  he  had  procured;  but  to  fill  all  the 
bottles  would  be  a  work  of  time ;  and  some 
he  had  but  small  hope  of  obtaining. 

To  give,  however,  as  much  completeness  as 
he  could  to  his  cabinet,  he  had  labelled  each 
compartment,  and  also  each  vial.  The  advan- 
tages of  vials  were  many ;  as  each  subject 
could  be  distinctly  seen,  without  danger  of 
being  lost  or  spoiled  by  incautious  handling. 


268  THE    MINERAL    CABINET. 

Uniformity  and  neatness  were  hereby  secured, 
as  well  as  conveniency  of  inspection. 

He  had  drawn  up  a  written  list  of  these,  lest 
any  of  them  should  be  disarranged;  and,  in 
order  to  make  himself  perfect  in  this  classi- 
fication, he  would  sometimes  take  all  the  bot- 
tles out  of  their  places,  and  intermingle  them 
upon  the  table,  enjoining  himself,  as  a  task, 
to  put  each  of  them  in  its  proper  compart- 
ment, and  in  its  individual  place.  He  had 
attained  to  so  much  expertness,  that  he  al- 
ready could  do  this  without  making  many 
mistakes. 

At  a  small  price,  and  with  little  exertion, 
any  one  may  thus  obtain  a  general  acquaint- 
ance with  the  wonderful  productions  found  in 
the  interior  of  the  earth ;  a  sort  of  knowledge 
highly  useful  to  many  persons,  and  gratifying 


THE   MINERAL    CABINET.  269 

to  every  intelligent  mind,  even  If  no  absolute 
necessity   for   it   should   occur. 

As  his  father  expressed  himself  much 
pleased  with  this  display  of  his  knowledge 
and  ingenuity,  James  took  courage  to  de- 
velop a  plan  much  more  complete,  which 
he  had  in  his  intention  ;  it  was,  to  have, 
not  a  single  bottle  to  each  genus,  but  a 
drawer,  containing  as  many  bottles  as  there 
were  important  specimens  in  each  genus. 
This  might  be  attained  by  only  giving  depth 
to  his  cabinet.  At  present,  he  contented 
himself  with  having  a  large  label  pasted  on 
the  hinder  part  of  each  vial,  on  which  was 
written  a  list  of  the  various  specimens  most 
commonly  named,  belonging  to  that  genus. 
Thus,  on  the  genus  Silica,  or  Quartz,  was 
this  list  :  Garnet,  Ruby,  Topaz,  Emerald, 
Rock  Crystal,  Flint,  Pumice,  Feldspar. .  In 


270        THE  MINERAL  CABINET. 

this  first  clasS,  are  many  names;  each  be- 
longs indeed  to  a  family,  and  under  each 
are  many  specimens ;  but  to  enlarge  it  thus, 
can  only  belong  to  a  scientific  mineralogist. 
For  general  knowledge,  it  is  quite  sufficient 
to  select  the  most  important  specimens ;  or 
such  as  are  most  likely  to  be  mentioned  in 
conversation,  or  in  books  of  travels. 

He  had,  also,  an  alphabetical  list  of  the 
names,  with  a  reference  to  the  class ;  and  a 
short  account  of  the  qualities,  localities,  and 
uses  of  each. 

We  have  given  a  representation  of  James's 
mineralogical  cabinet,  thinking  some  of  our 
young  readers  might  wish  to  make  one  like 
it.  And,  in  order  that  the  labels  may  be 
clearly  understood,  we  give  copies  of  them. 
The  terms  which  follow  each,  express  those 
specimens  which  are  most  commonly  known, 


THE   MINERAL    CABINET.  271 

or  are  in  more  general  use.  These  names 
were  inscribed  on  a  larger  label,  behind  the 
bottle  to  which  it  belonged. 

Thus  his  mineralogical  scheme  was  kept 
complete  by  the  labels,  even  should  he  nfever 
be  able  to  obtain  half  the  specimens ;  and 
some  of  them,  it  was  pretty  certain,  he  would 
never  possess:  diamond  and  zircon  for  in- 
stance. 


272 

CLASS  I.— EARTHS  AND  STONES. 

1.  Barytes   ....  Heavy  Spar. 

2.  Strontian  .     .     .     Strontites  Celestine. 

3.  Calcareus,  or  Lime.  Chalk,  Limestone,  Marl,  Fluor,  Gyp- 

sum. 

4.  Magnesia     .     .     .  Magnesia,  Fullers'  Earth,  Serpentine, 

Talc. 

5.  Alumina,  or  Argil.    Clay,   Tripoli,    Slate,   Mica,    Basalt, 

Umber. 

6.  Yttria. 

7.  Glucina. 

8.  Zirconia     .     .     .     Hyacinth. 

9.  Agustina. 

10.  Silica,  or  Quartz    .  Garnet,  Ruby,  Topaz,  Emerald,  Rock 
Crystal,  Flint,  Pumice,  Feldspar. 

CLASS  II.  — SALTS. 

1.  Carbonates  .     .     .  Native  Soda,  Native  Magnesia. 

2.  Sulphates  .  .     .     Native  Vitriol,  Alum,  Epsom  Salts. 

3.  Phosphates  .     .     .  Animal  Earth. 

4.  Fluates       .  .     .     Cryolite. 

5.  Borates  .          .     .  Borax. 

G.  Arseniates  .     Salt  of  Arsenic. 

7.  Nitrates  .     .  Native  Nitre,  Saltpetre. 


273 

8.  Alumines     .     .     .  Pure  Clay,  Base  of  Alum. 

9.  Muriates     .     .     .    Rock  Salt,  Sea  Salt,  Sal  Ammoniac 
10.  Acetites  ....  Verdigris,  Sugar  of  Lead. 

CLASS  III.  — COMBUSTIBLES. 

1.  Sulphur Native  Sulphur. 

2.  Carbon Diamond,  Mineral  Charcoal. 

3.  Bitumen Petroleum,  Mineral  Pitch. 

4.  Coal Jet,  Cannel  Coal,  Common  Coal 

5.  Amber Common  Amber. 

CLASS  IV.  — METALLIC   ORES. 

1.  Gold.  12.  Bismuth. 

2    Platina.  13.  Tellurium. 

3.  Silver.  14.  Arsenic. 

4.  Mercury.  15.  Cobalt. 

5.  Copper.  16.  Manganese. 

6.  Iron.  17.  Tungsten. 

7.  Tin.  18.  Molybdenum. 

8.  Lead.  19.  Uranium. 

9.  Nickel.  20.  Titanium. 

10.  Zinc.  21.  Chromium. 

11.  Antimony.  22.  ColumbiuiDu 

18 


INDEX. 


Page. 

Accidents  in  Mining     .     262 
Air,  Fresh         .         .        218 

Foul      .         .      149, 256 

Inflammable       .         149 

Amalgamation      .         .180 
Ancient  Coal  Mine   .         157 

-  Gold  Mines  .     167 

Anglesea  Mines         .  9 

Antiquity  of  Mining  .     25 

Atahualpa         .         .  183 

B. 

BeresofMine  .         .     171 

Black  Damp      .  .         149 

Black  Lead  .         .     236 

Blast  Furnace  116 

Blasting  Mines  .       96,  131 


Bogota      ...  186 
Boring  for  Coal    .         .137 

Borrowstoness           .  154 

Bovey  Coal           .         .  157 

Brass,  Composition  of  90 

Brazil  Diamonds           .  66 

-Gold        .         .  187 

Bristol  Stones       .         .  50 

C. 

Cabinet  of  Minerals      .  265 

Cannel  Coal  *   .         .  156 

Capel  of  Lodes     .         .  255 

Captain  of  a  Mine     .  81 

Carbonic  Acid  Gas        .  258 

Carron  Founderies    .  121 

Cerro  do  Frio    .         .  62 

Charon  216 


INDEX. 


275 


Choke  Damp     . 
Chemistry    . 
Cheshire,  Salt  Mines  in 

Qrilf    \\T/-ii*lf  ta    -ir\ 

Page. 
258 

263 
9 
16 
233 
90 
152 
152 

154 

80 
85 
93 
85 
102 
104 
122 
106 
102 
100 
68 
175 
148 
172 

13C 

Page. 
Davy's  Safety  Lamp  150,  261 
Derbyshire,  Lead  Mines 
in     .         .         .         .212 
Descending  into  a  Mine 
of  Coal     .     141 
Copper            108 

Cinnabar 
Clark,  Sir  Gilbert 
Coal          .         .          136, 

Trnn             1  °7    1  91 

Rnlt                 19    °tfi 

Silver              °04 

London  annuallv 
Coining  Tin 
Copper 

Diamond  Mine  at  Borneo     60 
in  Brazil      61 

nt  frim'           ^^ 

Cornwall 

Diamonds     ...      48 

w^a^hins*  of           60 

Roraas 
Copper  in  Russia 
Sweden 

Dip  of  the  Strata       .        254 
Dolgooth  Copper  Mines       87 
DolKoath          .         .           91 
Draining  a  Mine            .     139 
Dress  for  a  Mine       .         140 
Dysart  Coal  Mine          .     158 

E. 
Earth,  Structure  ;  *  tjie      251 
Fcton-hiil  Mii^c                 10£ 
F^e^ors  Mi»o                   16P 

Cornwall  Mines 
Cortez 
Crash 
Croesus 

D. 
Dannemora  Mine 

276 


INDEX. 


Education,  Advantages  of  91 

important 

English  Mines 
Explosion  of  Coal 

—  Galena 
. '       Gas 

F. 

Fahlum  Copper  Mine 
Female  Coal  Bearers 
Finding  Salt  Mines 
—  Copper 

Gold        .     1 

Fire-damp 
Fixed  Air     . 
Forest  of  Dean,  Iron, 
Foul  Air    .        .        1 
Fullers'  Earth       . 
Fumes,    dangerous, 

98,  1 

G. 

Galena 
Gani  Mine 
Golconda 
Gold 
in  Africa 


Page. 

Pa*e. 

>of  91 

Gold  in  Asia 

171 

.     207 

Brazil 

187 

44 

i^niTi  tvi  1  1 

RQ 

.     149 

V^UIUL  WctJU              • 

o& 

168 

P14. 

T*.rtlr.«^ 

£»J-TC 

260 

xreidnci 

XVLexico      •         • 

Prrn 

1fi*3 

Rrntlinrl 

JLOO 

170 

.     106 

OL/UlldllU.     •                • 

Spain    . 

j.  t-\j 
167 

144 

Guanza  Velica  Mine     . 

223 

•       15 

95 

H. 

64,  177 

Horses  let  down 

144 

259 

Hualpa 

190 

.     258 

Huels 

91 

HI 

Hungary  Mines 

168 

19,  256 

Hydrogen  Gas 

259 

.     237 

I. 

36,  140 

Idria     .... 

228 

Ignorance,  Loss  .by, 

91,  92, 

207 

.     214 

Improvements  in  Mining 

263 

55 

Inflammable  Air 

149 

51,61 

Iron      .... 

111 

164 

in  Russia 

122 

-     172 

Scotland 

121 

277 


Page, 

Iron  in  Sweden    .         .     124 
its  Value  to  Man       113 

J. 
Jigitonhonha  Mine       .      62 

K. 

Keel     ....  148 

Kibbuts  71 

Kolyvan  Mines     .         .  208 

Kimgsberg  Mines      .  202 

L. 

Lackawana  Coal  .  243 
Lavaderos  .  .  .182 
Laycacota  Mine  .  197 
Lead  .  .  104,212. 
Lehigh  Coal  .  .  243 
Letter  .  .  .139 

Litchfield  Cathedral  156 

Lode    ....      71 
Lot's  Wife        .  39 


M. 


Metallic  Vapors    . 

Mines,  History  of 

-Depth  of  . 

Description  of 

Dangers  in     . 

Dolgooth     . 

Dysart     . 

Forest  of  Dean 

Guanza  Velica 

Idria 

Kolyvan   . 

Laycacota 

Mam-Tor 

Mexico 

Nertchinsk 

Northwich 

Norway    . 

Parys  Mountain 

Potosi     . 

United  States 

Whitri°rs 


Mam-Tor 
Mercury 


213 
223 


Mines  under  the  Sea 
Mineral  Cabinet   . 
Mineralogical  Strata     . 
Minerals,  Indications  of 
Miners,  Operations  of 


Page. 

.  257 
250 

.  14 
251 
257 

75,87 
161 
111 
223 
228 

.  208 
197 

.  213 
174,  199 
210,  220 
10 
202 
93 
190 
239 
120 
155 
265 
252 
264 


13 


278 


INDEX. 


Page. 

Mules,  Droves  of  .  .  85 
Mundic  ...  90 

N. 

Nertchinsk  .  210,  220 
Newcastle  .  .  .  13b 
Northwich  .  .  10 

Norway  Mines      .      104,  202 
Noxiousness  of  Quicksil- 
ver    ..         .         .     229 
Number    of    Miners    in 
Cornwall        .        •«•          88 

O. 

Ocean,  saltness  of,        ,  24 

"  Old  God's  Blessing"  204 
Ore,  roasting  of, 

109,  113,  130,  225 

of  Copper      .         .  93 

-Lead      .         .  212 

-  Quicksilver        .  223 

Tin        .  68 


P. 

Pactolus  River 
Parys  Mountain 
Pea  Blossom 


171 

93 

257 


Page. 

Peru  ...  223 
Pennsylvania  Coal  .  243 
Phoenicians  trading  for 

Tin  .  .  .  .83 
Pig  Iron  ...  120 
Pittsburg  .  .  .244 
Plumbago  .  .  236 
Poder  ....  91 
Potosi  ...  190 
Purifying  .  .  .225 

Q. 

Quantities  of  Coals  sent 

to  London  .  .  154 
Quicksilver  223,  232 

R. 

Rail-roads  .  .  .147 
R,aolconda  .  52 

Retorts  .*  .  .  225 
Rhode-Island  Coal  .  243 
Roasting  Ore 

109,  113,  130,  225 
Rock  Salt  ...  18 
Roraas  Mine  .  .  104 
Russian  Mines  122,  SOS,  220 


INDEX.                                                279 

Page. 

Pago. 

S 

Silver,  Nertchinsk     210, 

220 

Saalberg 

206 

Norway 

202 

Safety  Lamp     .         150, 

261 

Potosi 

191 

St.  Austle     . 

75 

Sweden 

206 

Salt 

9 

Slave  freed 

65 

finding  of 

15 

Smelting  Furnace 

114 

formed  into  Money 

20 

Spanish  Mines     . 

232 

purifying  of 

18 

"  Speedwell"  Mine 

216 

a  Bond  of  Amity 

22 

Staffordshire,  Lead  Mines 

Origin  of 

21 

in 

216 

Chapels  of 

38 

Stamping  Mills 

78 

Springs 

18 

Steam  Engine 

73 

from  the  Sea     , 

26 

Stream  of  Sparks 

261 

Cordova        .         , 

22 

Stream  "Works 

76 

Northwich   . 

10 

Structure  of  the  Earth 

251 

-  Roland      . 

35 

Sulphur 

236 

Wielitska 

35 

Sundries     . 

235 

Salt  Lakes 

30 

Swedish  Mines   106,124, 

206 

Springs                   , 

240 

Syracuse    . 

241 

Salt-works  of  Salina     . 

241 

Saltness  of  the  Sea     . 

24 

T. 

Scottish  Gold  Mines     . 

169 

Tin       .... 

68 

Schuylkill  Coal 

243 

Temperature  of  a  Mine 

256 

Sea  Salt 

26 

Silver,  Finding  of     . 

192 

V. 

Kolyvan 

208 

Virgin  Copper 

100 

•  Mexico     . 

199 

-Voetsk 

169 

280 


INDEX 


U. 

Uralian  Mountains 
United  States,  Mines  in 

W. 
Washing  Diamonds 

Gold     . 

Tin  Ore 


Page. 

Page. 

Whitehaven 

155 

122 

Wicklow  Mines 

.     103,  170 

239 

Wielitska 

35 

63 

180 

78 


Women  Coal  Bearers   .     144 

Z. 

Zinc  89 


RSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRA 
BERKELEY 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 

Books  not  returned  on  time  are  subject  to  a  fine  of 
50c  per  volume  after  the  third  day  overdue,  increasing 
to  $1.00  per  volume  after  the  sixth  day.  Books  not  in 
demand  may  be  renewed  if  application  is  made  before 
expiration  of  loan  period. 


W5V  2  4  TS75 

EEC.C1R.OCT  Ik  '78 


49 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


